Chicken drumsticks? Who doesn’t love chicken drumsticks? So easy to hold, so easy to eat! So easy to dream about? Have them at your next family outdoor barbecue, tailgating at a football game, grilling at the beach, at your favorite park on a Saturday afternoon, or partying with family and friends at your next family reunion. The chicken drumsticks in this recipe are so easy to smoke on your Weber Kettle that you don’t need to dream about them anymore. Just fire up your Weber Kettle anywhere you are to satisfy your smoked chicken drumstick craving, and everyone else’s with you, too!
Why You Should Try This Weber Kettle Smoked Chicken Drumsticks Recipe
- Why should you try this recipe? Really? Have you ever had a chicken drumstick? They are hand-held, incredibly delicious, juicy, crunchy, dark meat pieces of plump chicken with crispy skin. Have I made my point? Is your mouth watering? Do you want one now?
- Incredibly simple to prepare and smoke – Apply the rub, place on the Weber kettle, smoke for half an hour, apply the BBQ sauce, and presto, chicken drumstick heaven. And since these smoked chicken drumsticks cook so quickly, you don’t need to add much more charcoal or wood to the charcoal piles.
- Very economical – For this recipe, I bought 4.15 pounds of chicken drumsticks with 12 individual pieces in the package for $1.48 a pound for a total cost of $6.14. That’s a cost of $.51 per chicken drumstick. I’m not sure any other delicious meat is so economical and affordable.
Ingredients For Weber Kettle Smoked Chicken Drumsticks
- 8 individual drumsticks
- 1/2 cup chicken rub
- 1 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce
Directions For Grilling Weber Kettle Smoked Chicken Drumsticks
1. Set up your Weber Kettle for indirect smoking – Fill your charcoal chimney fire starter with charcoal briquettes, and when ready, empty the chimney in the center of the charcoal grate. With tongs, move the charcoal to both sides of the Weber Kettle, creating two equal piles. Add three more charcoal briquets and two soaked wood chunks or wood chips to each pile.
2. Bring the chicken drumsticks to room temperature – Pat the chicken drumsticks dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle each chicken drumstick with the chicken rub, ensuring the entire chicken drumstick is completely covered with the rub.
3. Place the chicken drumsticks on the Weber Kettle grill grate – Place the chicken drumsticks in the center of the Weber Kettle grill grate and smoke indirectly for minutes 30 minutes, or until a meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the drumstick reads 165 degrees.
4. Add the BBQ sauce – Just before pulling the chicken drumsticks off the Weber Kettle, slather on the BBQ sauce with a kitchen brush. Remove the chicken drumsticks from the Weber Kettle and devour.
Variations And Substitutions For Weber Kettle Smoked Chicken Drumsticks
Use other chicken pieces – This recipe can be used as a basic smoked chicken recipe for your Weber kettle. The chicken rub, indirect smoking method, and BBQ sauce will do fabulously with chicken wings, chicken breast, chicken leg quarters, and even whole chicken.
Use a marinade instead of the BBQ sauce – Marinate the chicken drumsticks in a marinade of pineapple juice, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, chopped garlic, ginger, and green onions for two hours, then sprinkle on the chicken rub. With a basting brush, apply the marinade to the chicken drumsticks at the end of the smoking period instead of the BBQ sauce.
Tips And Tricks For Weber Kettle Smoked Chicken Drumsticks
Use a Weber Kettle hinged grill grate – The hinged portion of the grill grate on both sides lifts up, so you can add more charcoal or wood chips as you need to. This is an incredible game changer because you don’t need to lift the entire grill grate off the Weber Kettle every time you need to add more fuel.
Be sure to watch the chicken drumsticks while they are smoking – These chicken drumsticks cook very quickly. So be sure to keep an eye on them and check the internal temperature after 20 minutes or so to ensure juicy and not overcooked chicken drumsticks.
Use an aluminum drip pan – Place a disposable aluminum drip pan filled with one inch of water on the ash grate underneath the chicken drumsticks. This helps ensure that your smoked chicken drumsticks will stay moist during the smoking process.
Weber Kettle Smoked Chicken Drumsticks
Equipment
- 1 Weber Kettle Grill
- 1 Charcoal Chimney Fire Starter
- Charcoal briquets
- Wood chunks soaked in water
- 1 Disposable Aluminum Pan
- 1 BBQ Tongs
Ingredients
- 8 individual chicken drumsticks
- 1/2 cup chicken rub
- 1 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce
Instructions
- Set up your Weber Kettle for indirect smoking – Fill your charcoal chimney fire starter with charcoal briquettes, and when ready, empty the chimney in the center of the charcoal grate. With tongs, move the charcoal to both sides of the Weber Kettle, creating two equal piles. Add three more charcoal briquets and two soaked wood chunks or wood chips to each pile.
- Bring the chicken drumsticks to room temperature – Pat the chicken drumsticks dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle each chicken drumstick with the chicken rub, ensuring the entire chicken drumstick is completely covered with the rub.
- Place the chicken drumsticks on the Weber Kettle grill grate – Place the chicken drumsticks in the center of the Weber Kettle grill grate and smoke indirectly for minutes 30 minutes, or until a meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the drumstick reads 165 degrees.
- Add the BBQ sauce – Just before pulling the chicken drumsticks off the Weber Kettle, slather on the BBQ sauce with a kitchen brush. Remove the chicken drumsticks from the Weber Kettle and devour.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
