Ingredients
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Turkey Drumstick
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Simple Brine
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2 Tbsp per 500ml Water Rock salt
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2 Tbsp per 500ml Water Brown Sugar
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Rub
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20-30g Traeger Rub
Directions
This BBQ Turkey Drumstick recipe is enough to share between two as part of a main meal but you could go full medieval and have it all to yourself.
We thought with these Drumsticks we’d make a simple brine to try to keep them nice and juicy. Brining is the process used in American BBQ where you leave the drumsticks submerged in salted, flavoured water. The thinking is that the salt in the brine causes the juices in the turkey to be retained during grilling, locking in the moisture.
We just knocked up a simple brine because we were trying out a rub we got through the Rub Club UK on Twitter. This is the second rub we have won through them and we are so grateful! Last time we made these amazing Zach’s Spice Rubber BBQ Chicken Thighs! If you’re on Twitter you should definitely follow them! I also tried the Traeger Rub out with some delicious thick-cut Pork Chops which will be up here soon!
Mix up your simple brine and if you want, you can throw in some extra flavours. Think herbs, chilli and garlic, maybe even try some fruit juice. Mix it up. For our simple brine, we went with two tablespoons of salt and brown sugar per around 500ml of water. You can use a bowl but we threw it all in a big ziplock bag. Make sure the drumstick is submerged in water and then add the right amount of salt and sugar.
The BBQ Turkey Drumstick can brine away for anything up to 24 hours, we only had time for three hours today. Three hours is probably going to be the minimum amount of time in which you will benefit from the brining process. Dispose of the brine when you take the drumsticks out, you shouldn’t reuse it. I have also read recipes where the cooks recommend washing the raw meat, that goes against every food hygiene bone in my body.
The Traeger Rub is supposed to have a garlic and chilli flavour profile and it certainly did. You could smell the garlic as soon as I opened the pack. We also got a strong oriental smell from it, unable to put our noses on it at this stage. After cooking though, we were still picking up this Chinese note. We thought it might have been five spice or clove maybe. Anyway it didn’t really matter, the rub worked deliciously well with the brined BBQ Turkey Drumstick.
Steps
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1
Done
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Mix up the brine and get the drumstick soaking in the fridge for at least 3 hours but preferably up to 24 hours. When you are ready to cook, set up your BBQ for indirect cooking. |
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2
Done
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Drain away the brine and dispose of it carefully. Coat the turkey drumstick in the rub and pat it in to make it stick. Wash your hands. |
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3
Done
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Grill the drumstick on the hot part of the fire for 2-3 minutes all around. After that, move the drumstick onto the indirect heat and close the lid. Let the turkey cook slowly for about 60 minutes, turning several times throughout the hour. |
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4
Done
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When you brine meat, particulary pork and poultry, it has a tendency to take on a pinkish colour, even after it's cooked through. So to make sure your BBQ Turkey Drumstick is safe to eat, I recommend you use a thermometer. I had to borrow my Dad's... Poultry is cooked when it reaches an internal temperature of 74°C (165°F for my American readers). Using a thermometer was great! I really enjoyed the level of control I felt I had. I need to get my hands on my own one. |
