The Challenge: A “British” appetizer, featuring chicken legs and using a stainless steel wing rack.
Out of the five recipes I created for the #OGBChallenge, I think this one gave me the most trouble. Now, I LOVE all things British and London is one of my favourite cities in the world, but to create a chicken dish on the wing rack that showed British influence? That was a little more difficult.
However, I finally managed to come up with something delicious by taking one of my favourite dishes, Chicken Tikka Masala, which is very popular in Britain, and using that as the flavour inspiration for this recipe.
The spice mix (or masala) combines with a tomato-coconut base to create a spicy and crunchy (thanks Panko breadcrumbs!) appetizer that is a tasty way to kick off any meal.
One thing I’ve learned from this challenge is that every grill is different, so it’s very important to ensure that meats cook to a safe internal temperature before serving no matter what time the recipe calls for. The drumsticks I bought were HUGE. They were so big that some of them wouldn’t fit next to each other on the wing rack! It also meant that my cooking time was slightly longer than I had expected. So please, get to know your grill and adjust accordingly! It’s definitely worth it!
Don’t forget! Starting July 1, 2014, you can vote for your favourite #OGBChallenge recipe and be eligible to win one of five $100 gift cards to Ontario Gas BBQ! Follow all the OGB Challenge action on Twitter by following the hashtag #OGBChallenge and keep watching my blog for more recipes and details about the contest.
ingredients
- 12 large chicken drumsticks
- 1 tbsp (15 mL) salt
- 1/2 cup (120 mL) tomato puree
- 1/2 cup (120 mL) coconut cream
- 2 tsp (10 mL) ground cinnamon
- 3 tsp (15 mL) ground cardamom
- 1 tsp (5 mL) ground black pepper
- 2 tsp (10 mL) garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) hot chili powder
- 1 tsp (5 mL) ground cloves
- 1 tsp (5 mL) ground nutmeg
- 2 cups (300 g) panko breadcrumbs
- 2 tbsp (30 mL) coconut oil
- 1 cup (240 mL) water
directions
- Preheat grill to 400° F.
- Rinse chicken in cold water, pat dry with paper towels and lay flat on a baking tray. Sprinkle both sides of the chicken with salt.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together tomato puree and coconut cream. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the cinnamon, cardamom, black pepper, garlic powder, chili powder, cloves, nutmeg and breadcrumbs. Pour the spice-breadcrumb mix into a shallow dish or bowl that will can easily roll the drumsticks in.
- Dip each drumstick into the tomato-coconut mix, coating it evenly. Roll the drumstick in the spice-breadcrumb mix until the drumstick is entirely coated.
- Carefully position the drumsticks on a grill wing rack.
- Position the bottom tray of the wing rack onto the grill. Add the coconut oil and 2-4 tablespoons of the remaining tomato-coconut mix to the tray. Pour in water until the tray is half full. Keep any remaining tomato-coconut mix and water nearby so that you can keep adding more as the level drops during grilling.
- Carefully place the top of the wing rack, with the drumsticks attached, to the bottom tray.
- Close the BBQ lid and turn all burners to Medium-High. Since your grill settings may differ from mine, ensure that the temperature stays around 400° F during grilling.
- Try to keep the BBQ lid closed as much as possible, but do check once in a while to make sure that there is still a good amount of liquid left in the tray. Add more water and tomato-coconut mix as needed.
- This is where a meat thermometer comes in really handy. You need to make sure that your chicken is fully cooked before taking it off the grill. Depending on how big your drumsticks are, the actual cooking time can vary. The drumsticks I used were very large, so it took just under 2 hours to cook them fully. Regardless, make sure you cook your chicken to an internal temperature of 165° F.
- Once your drumsticks hit an internal temperature of 165° F, remove them from the wing rack and serve.
Check out my other OGB Challenge recipes! Which one do you think the judges will choose to represent my blog in the Voting round?
Day 1: Masala Chicken Drumsticks
Day 2: Grilled Vegetable Stir-Fry
Day 3: Pulled Pork Pitas
Day 4: Grilled Figs with Vanilla-Orange Mascarpone
Day 5: Breakfast Quesadillas
Disclosure: kitchen frolic received a wing rack and monetary compensation in order to develop this recipe and take part in this competition. All opinions we shared in this post are sincere and belong to us alone and were not influenced by the compensation. Please read our disclosure policy for more information.
These look awesome, Stephanie. I did a Tikka Massala inspired dish this week, too (think it’s up tomorrow)
Thanks Jennifer! I can’t wait to see your take on Tikka Masala! (Great minds think alike, right?!)
These look awesome. LOVE chicken tikka masala and I love this recipe
Thanks so much Steve!
That looks delicious. I love Indian flavours. That rack is kinda cool.
Mara – isn’t it cool? I thought it was a little weird when I first got it, but it’s definitely lots of fun to use!
I love the angle you took on British cuisine. And they look so impressive, too! I’m intrigued to see all the gadgets available for the grill.
Thanks Charmian! I’m not afraid to admit that the British influence had me a little stumped, but I love how this came out.
Very cool! Looks delicious. And just when I was all cat’s pajamas about my new baking rack
A wing rack! Who knew! I never make wings on the BBQ because they just get stuck too often. Problem solved!
Found your blog via the Hungry Gnome, looking forward to voting for you and following your kitchen frolics.
Hi Tasha! Thanks so much for checking out my blog – I really look forward to your comments and appreciate your support!