Smoky Tea Marinated Chicken Drumsticks

Tea Marinated Chicken Drumsticks may sound a little odd, but trust me, these are good! Tea might seem strange to use in a marinade, but it adds a delicious depth of flavour to these drums.

Why Drumsticks?

Chicken drumsticks are a favourite at our house for grilling and baking. Besides these tea marinated chicken legs, we also love Tandoori Chicken Drumsticks, Jerk Chicken Drumsticks, and Harissa Chicken Drumsticks, just to name a few.

• They cook quickly and get that nice crispy skin. And crispy chicken skin is everyone's guilty pleasure, right?
• Drumsticks are always moist and juicy and don't tend to be dry.
• They're easy to eat with your fingers. Who doesn't love finger food?
• Kids always seem to love drumsticks.
• In addition, drumsticks are economical, too.

Tea Blend Barbecue Rub

I recently received an awesome gift containing a great selection of steeped tea blends, including some that are formulated for grilling. I do love tea and sip on it pretty much daily. But, I'm new to using tea in a savoury dish.

This one is a blend of black tea, chilli pepper, salt, black pepper and spices. I was intrigued to try out tea on the grill for this tea marinated chicken dish and went to work. Drumsticks on the grill are great since they don't take too long to cook and always turn out crisp and juicy.

This tea blend smells amazing. I rubbed the drumsticks with a little oil and two heaping tablespoons of the tea rub. Plus, a tablespoon of brown sugar, and put in the fridge for an hour.

About a half hour on the grill and chicken drumsticks came off with a beautiful colour, nice crispy skin and juicy, tender chicken.

The drumsticks were deliciously smoky, with a little kick of heat. Perfect for a simple summer dinner with a squeeze of lime and a sprinkling of fresh cilantro. A tomato and arugula salad rounded it out with just a drizzle of white balsamic vinegar.

Although it's great, you don't need to have this particular grilling blend. You can still use regular black tea leaves, chilli pepper, smoked paprika, salt and black pepper to get a similar effect. (See proportions in the recipe notes). Most importantly, the star of this dish is the tea marinade.

Smoky Tea Marinated Chicken Drumsticks

These easy to make chicken drumsticks are rubbed in a dry marinade of black tea, chili powder, and smoked paprika. 

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Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Barbecue

Diet: Gluten Free

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Servings: 4 servings

Calories: 224kcal

Author: Colleen Milne

Ingredients

• 8 chicken drumsticks
• 2 tablespoon  olive oil
• 2 heaping tablespoon Steeped Tea Smoky Tea-Aki Rub
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• lime wedges
• Chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions

• Rinse chicken drumsticks and pat dry with paper towel.
• Rub with oil, then with tea blend, then with brown sugar, and refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight.
• Heat grill on high, then turn it to medium-low and grill chicken drumsticks, turning often.
• The brown sugar will give a nice char, but be careful not to burn.
• I like to brown the drumsticks on the direct heat, and then turn off one of the burners, put the lid down, and cook the chicken with indirect heat.
• The drumsticks should take about 30 minutes to cook through.
• If you aren't sure, a thermometer should read 175° in the plumpest part of the drumstick.
• Remove from grill and scatter with chopped cilantro and wedges of fresh lime for squeezing.

Notes

*If you can't find the tea marinade, you can make your own by combining:

¼ cup black tea leaves, 

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

1 tablespoon chili powder

½ teaspoon course salt

½ teaspoon black pepper.

Nutrition

Serving: 2drumsticks | Calories: 224kcal | Fat: 12.3g