Smoked BBQ Drumsticks

We had a busy day yesterday at SheppyBrew Brewery and Smokehouse.

We didn't brew any beer, but we started the day early by kegging Melting Stream Spring Saison.

We bottled a batch of green tea kombucha and stared a new batch.

And .. we prepared and made barbecue drumsticks.

I bought a package of drumsticks at Sam's Club in the morning.

I decided to make the whole package even though I knew it would be too much for our family of four. I like having leftovers for lunch. Yummy barbecue drumsticks for lunch will be great this week.

As soon as I got the drumsticks home, I made a rub to put on them.

The rub I made was:

• ⅔ cup chili powder 
• ⅓ cup sugar 
• 4 tablespoons kosher salt 
• 4 tablespoons onion powder 
• 4 tablespoons garlic powder 
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Just for the record, this made more than I needed. I saved the extra for some future grilling session.

I let the rub sit on the drumsticks for several hours until time to put on the smoker.

I also made some homemade barbecue sauce.

The sauce I make is a little different each time I make it, but this time, it was basically:

• 1 cup beer
• 1 cup ketchup (maybe a little more than 1 cup?)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup kombucha
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon honey (maybe a bit more?)
• 1ish teaspoon cumin
• 1ish teaspoon chili powder
• 1ish teaspoon black pepper
• A few more spices (I think)

Instructions:

• Combine ingredients and bring to boil
• Simmer for about an hour (maybe a bit more)

I had intended to give myself enough time to smoke the rubbed drumsticks for about 2.5 hours at 225.

I got started late, and ended up smoking them for less time at a hotter temperature. They still turned out great.

With the internal temperature at 160 on them all, I applied the barbecue sauce and then grilled them over flame for 10 or so minutes (maybe a bit more?)

I had some of my Pats Disliker New England Pale Ale while going through the process.

It was delicious.

The drumsticks turned out great. I loved them, and if I'm honest, I should say that I had more than I should have.

Still, I ended up with some left-overs for a lunch or two this week.

Messy eating, but totally worth it. Used lots of napkins.

If you try out the homemade barbecue sauce, let me know how you like it. Play around with it. I always do. Sometimes it is spicier. Sometimes it is sweeter, but I always prefer it to store-bought sauce.

If you want to see / read more of what I've grilled, be sure to check out See SheppyBrew: Grilling. Or SheppyBrew: BBQ. Or SheppyBrew: Smoked. Also keep an eye on the regular SheppyBrew Channels to see what is happening with this beer (and many others): SheppyBrew's Facebook Page; Sheppy's Twitter Feed;SheppyBrew's Instagram Page; and SheppyBrew's Website.

And ... of course ... don't forget the new SheppyBrew Smokehouse and Brewery youtube channel.