Raise your hands if you are aching for barbecue season (I will assume everyone reading this just raised your arm slightly or maybe your brain went hmm yeah, I could go for barbecue).
Well even if you didn’t raise your hand, I am ready for barbecue season. The issue is that the weather here in Vancouver is not getting on board.
I mean it’s May, do you really need to be pouring and 11 degrees? I don’t think so. Alas, the gloomy unpredictable outside conditions have made me yearn for summer that much more. The days of lounging at the lake, playing tennis, and cooking literally everything possible on the bbq are what summer is all about.
Now living in a basement suite doesn’t promote easy bbqing. Instead I usually have to go with M to my parent’s lake house in the Okanagan for that. And yes this lake house is everything you would hope a summer destination would be. And no I am not annoyingly snobbish. It’s just fun to say “Oh I’m popping over to the Lake House for the weekend”. So despite desperately wanting bbq food and not having access to an actual barbecue, I felt at a loss.
Enter in: Eat Delicious by Dennis the Prescott, M’s birthday gift to me. I’m sure it had nothing to do with the fact that they coincidentally share the same last name…This book is full of eye catching delicious food. Flipping through the pages I came across this drumstick recipe. It is not often, that cookbooks include drumsticks, as most opt for chicken breast and thigh. But, drumsticks are actually cheaper and easier to prepare as no knife skills are required!
These drumsticks are beyond amazing; the sauce that cooks into them is sweet and tangy; while the brine makes the chicken super moist. I added the slaw to brighten up the meal and add a nice crunch. I also switched out the jasmine for brown rice, and included cardamom to boost up the fiber and add dimension to the dish. Whats more is that no barbecue is required, its all done on the stove and the oven.
So if you are like me, and craving summer food try out these drumsticks. They would be perfect for any picnic, party, or weeknight meal. Maybe if we all eat them, summer will come faster..one can only hope!
HOISIN CHICKEN DRUMSTICKS WITH ASIAN SLAW
Ingredients
- Chicken and Brine
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup salt
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 garlic head, halved horizontally
- 1 tbsp whole black peppercorns
- 10 skin-on drumsticks
- 2 tbsp canola oil
- Sauce
- 1/3 cup hoisin sauce
- 1/3 cup chicken stock
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 3 tbsp ketchup
- 1 tbsp garlic chili sauce
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp honey
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- Rice
- 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
- 1 cup brown rice
- 2 green cardamom pods
- sesame seeds and green onion for serving
- Slaw
- 1/2 cup red cabbage, shredded
- 1/2 cup green cabbage, shredded
- 1/3 cup carrot, grated
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp mirin
- salt
Directions
- Step 1 Brine the chicken: in large pot, combine the sugar, salt, and 8 cups of water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. remove from heat and sir in lemon juice, garlic, and peppercorns. Let cool to room temp, then submerge chicken in the brine, cover, and refrigerate for 3-4 hours.
- Step 2 Preheat oven to 425F.’Whisk up all sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside
- Step 3 Drain the chicken and discard the brine. Pat the chicken completely dry with paper towels and transfer to a bowl. Pour one tbsp of oil into bowl and massage into the chicken.
- Step 4 Heat large oven safe pan or dutch oven over medium heat with remaining 1 tbsp of oil. When hot, add chicken and cook until golden brown on all sides.
- Step 5 Pour the sauce into the pan and toss to coat the chicken. Transfer the pan to the oven and roast for about 30 minutes or until internal temp is 165F.
- Step 6 While the chicken is roasting, bring the stock to a boil in a saucepan. Add the rice and cardamom pods and reduce heat to simmer. Cook until liquid is absorbed.
- Step 7 Make the slaw: combine all ingredients in a medium sized bowl (only add the liquids when chicken and rice is ready for serving)
- Step 8 Serve chicken with desired veggies (try bok choy or broccolini) rice, top with green onions, sesame seeds and spoon over remaining sauce.