Grilled Chicken Drumsticks with Savory Caramel

Drumsticks grilled over indirect heat and lacquered with a lemongrass, fish sauce and chili savory caramel until glossy and lightly charred.

🍳 Cook: 35 min

Ingredients

—		vegetable oil (for grill)
4		garlic cloves, finely grated
1		lemongrass stalk, finely grated
1/2 cup	120 ml	sugar
1/4 cup	60 ml	unseasoned rice vinegar
2 tsp	10 ml	crushed red pepper flakes
2 tsp	10 ml	ground cumin
1 tsp	5 ml	freshly ground black pepper
3 Tbsp	45 ml	fish sauce
12		large chicken drumsticks (about 3 lb)
—		kosher salt

Prepare a grill for high indirect heat (for a gas grill, leave one or two burners off; for a charcoal grill, bank the coals on one side); oil the grate. Bring the garlic, lemongrass, sugar, vinegar, red pepper flakes, cumin, black pepper and 1/2 cup water to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring occasionally, and cook until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 8 minutes. Let cool and stir in the fish sauce. Transfer half of the sauce to a small bowl and set aside for serving.
Season the chicken with salt. Place over indirect heat and cover the grill with the vent open (if you have one) and positioned over the chicken. Grill, turning once or twice, until the skin is browned and crisp and the meat is nearly cooked through, 25-30 minutes. Uncover and move the chicken to the hotter part of the grill. Continue to grill, turning often and basting with the remaining sauce, until lacquered and lightly charred in places, 6-8 minutes longer. Serve with the reserved sauce alongside.