I'm not a big fan of drumsticks, normally. They do come in handy for parties because you can't beat the price.
This time I smoked them and WOW! Now I have to say I'm not a fan of drumsticks unless they're smoked. Seriously, seriously tasty. Barbecue chicken legs? Nah. Smoked? Absolutely!
Wished I taken pictures but I didn't so just visualize deep brown deliciousness. There's a dirty joke in there somewhere.
Anyway, lets begin.
Ingredients:
Chicken drumsticks
Cajun injector liquid seasoning (I used Cajun butter flavor)
Tony Cachere all purpose seasoning
For the smoker water pan:
Two cans cherry cola
Hot water
Wash the chicken and inject each leg with seasoning until it plumps up. Place chicken in gallon sized plastic bags and refrigerate overnight. (If you decided to smoke chicken just now and are reading this, boy, are you screwed! Just kidding. You can still make this. The flavors won't have had as much time to permeate the meat, though.)
Soak a bowl full of wood chips (about five cups) in water for an hour before you start smoking your meat.
Fill your pit pan with charcoal up to the top and start your fire. While you are waiting on this bring your cola and water to a low boil. Also line your water pan with foil (easier cleanup).
Once the charcoal has grayed over you're ready to start smoking. First put a good handfull of wet chips on the charcoal. I used pecan this time. Then place the pit body on, add the water pan, fill with boiling liquid until 3/4ths of the way full, add one grate on top of the water pan. Place your chicken on and make sure the pieces aren't touching. Add the next rack to the top and put the rest of your chicken on. Smoke for three hours adding wood chips as needed to keep it smoking (at least for the first two hours of cooking). Delish!
Note: I don't have a good thermometer but I've found if I keep my smoker in the "ideal" range of the built-in thermometer I've had excellent results using my water smoker. If your fire gets too hot then open the door on the front for a bit to lower the heat.
