I Love New Flavours!
Discovering new flavours is something I love experiencing, especially when cooked outdoors over coals, and these Gochujang Chicken Drumsticks certainly hit the spot.
I was kindly sent a food box by Andrew and Laura from Flame and Dame. It contained a variety of items, many from Korean / South-East Asia. Andrew and Laura always blow me away with their food creations, so I knew whatever I decided to do with the pastes and spices would be good.
I enjoy spice in my food so a great place to start with this recipe was the Gochujang, which would form the base for the marinade. Mixing all the ingredients together, I removed about 1/4 to 1/3 of the marinade which I planned to use for basting towards the end of the cook and then marinated the chicken overnight.
Preparation and Cook
When I cook meat from the fridge I typically take it out at least 1 hour before I want to begin cooking. The idea behind this is to bring it up towards room temperature. I then crack on with setting up my BBQ. For this cook, I used the BBQ Vortex.
The BBQ Vortex is such a simple but effective accessory. It is funnel-shaped and basically helps crisp up the food you are cooking. Most people use it this way, but it can also be turned ‘upside-down’ and used as a deflector to cook food using a ‘low ‘n’ slow’ method. It’s a simple but ingenious device.
These Gochujang Chicken Drumsticks were cooked for around 40 minutes, with an added wood chunk. For these, I used a cherry chunk from The Smokewood Shack. Typically, I will rotate the lid every 15 minutes until the chicken is cooked, which I check by using my Thermapen.
The Verdict
I absolutely loved these. The BBQ Vortex did a great job crisping them up. You could really taste the Gochujang, but the heat from them was really pleasant. A few other people (who don’t like spicy food) tried these and again they got a really big thumbs up. Definitely, one to add to the ‘regular cook’ list.
Gochujang Chicken Drumsticks
Equipment
- Weber Kettle 57cm GBS
- BBQ Fuel Dome / BBQ Vortex
Ingredients
- ¼ cup Gochujang
- 2 tbsp Soy Sauce
- 2 tbsp Mirin
- 1 tbsp Rapeseed Oil
- 1 tbsp Honey
- 4 Garlic Cloves (crushed)
- Sesame Seeds
Instructions
- Mix the Gochujang, Soy Sauce, Mirin, Rapeseed Oil, Sugar, and Crushed Garlic together and stir well. Keep 1/4 to 1/3 of the marinade to one-side for basting when you cook the chicken. Pour the remaining marinade over the chicken and allow to marinate for at least 4 hours or overnight.Tip: Someone suggested using honey rather than sugar which I think is a great idea, which I will try next time on these.
- 1 hour before you want to start cooking, remove the chicken from the fridge, and prepare your BBQ (or oven). I cooked these using the BBQ Vortex which takes around 40-45 minutes but depending on how you are cooking them these times may vary.
- Once your BBQ is ready to cook on, place the chicken on the BBQ. I add a wood chunk for a little extra smokiness. If you are using the BBQ Vortex I rotate the lid 120 degrees every 15 minutes to help get an even cook over the chicken.
- About 5 minutes before they are ready, use the marinade you put to one side to brush the chicken drumsticks. Once brushed, sprinkle the sesame seeds over the chicken and allow to cook for a further 5 minutes.
- Remove from the BBQ and serve. You may want to add some garnish at this point (or maybe not). I added a few picked chill’s but sliced spring onions would also work well.
