Tandoori Drumsticks

char buddy

Ingredients

• 16 drumsticks	• 1 tsp dry ginger powder (or 2 tsb ginger powder if no fresh avail)
• 4 tsp yellow food coloring	• 1 tsp ground roasted cumin seeds
• 2 tsp rred food coloring	• 2 tsp ground roasted coriander seeds
• 2 Tbs plain yoghurt	• half tsp cinnamon (or 1 tsp ground cardamom)
• 2 Tbs lemon juice	• 1 tsp chipotle powder (or 1 tsp cayenne)
• 1 Tbs minced garlic	• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 Tbs crushed fresh ginger

Instructions

1. pull the skin off the drumsticks.
2. paint them with the food coloring. Warning: No matter what you do the food coloring will get on your hands, your clothes and your counter and stay there for a few days. If this is a problem, wear disposable gloves, an apron and cover your counter with newspaper. Also, the food coloring is optional. It does not affect the flavor, but it is a lot of fun and I think it is worth the trouble.
3. Mix the marinade. If you can't roast and grind your own cumin and coriander seeds, just do as I do and use stuff from a Penzey's bottle. The original recipe calls for cardamom and cayenne. I prefer the cinnamon and chipotle, especially the chipotle.
4. Slash each drumstick, twice on opposite sides. You want the slashes deep enough so that the marinade penetrates the meat, but not so deep the meat falls off. I make one slash to the bone and the other three less deep.
5. Paint the marinade on the drumsticks. Make sure it gets into the slashes and in an many nooks and crannies as possible.
6. Marinate in the fridge from 2 to 24 hours. I shoot for 12 hours.

Normally you cook chicken on the Egg at temps below 400*. You want the insides moist and the outside crispy, crusty. The gamble with tandoori chicken is that the marinade will work so well, that you can get away with cooking at a high temp. If it works right, you get a crunchy crust and moist, almost steamed, insides.

1. Crank up the egg to 550*. JimW says you can always get the egg stable at 550* by opening the bottom vent all the way and leaving the swivel top on - open all the way. That doesn't always work for me and I sometimes have trouble stabalizing at 550*. If that happens, I have a suggestion below.
2. Once you are at temp, throw on your favorite chips or chunks. At the fest I used a combination of pecan chips and an oak chunk. Fantastic.
3. Set up for a simple direct cook. Just throw the drumsticks (8 on a large) on the fire for seven minutes, then turn for seven more minutes.
4. Then check for doneness. If you have a really fast, instant read thermometer test each piece and see how close it is to 170* internal. If they are not done, turn again and go a few more minutes. (the longest I have gone is an added 7 minutes). If you do not use a thermometer, taste test one of the pieces, or just prick a piece and see if the juices run clear.
5. If you have trouble stablizing your temps at 550*, go for a lower temp, say 500*, rather than a higher temp.
6. Serve with lemon wedges and a nice, cool, yoghurt-based salsa.

Notes

Number of Servings:

Time to Prepare: