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Recipes Nugget Market Signature Recipes

Drumsticks with Honey Chipotle Sauce

Prep time
20 minutes PT20M
Cook time
1 hour 10 minutes PT10.016666666667M
Yield
4 servings
Difficulty
2 out of 5 on the difficulty scale
drumsticks-honey-chipotle-1 Nugget Market signature recipes

This smoky, sweet, and spicy barbecue sauce is perfect for just about anything, especially drumsticks or pork ribs. The sauce will keep in refrigeration for up to 30 days.

Ingredients

Honey Chipotle Sauce:

  • ½ red onion, small-diced
  • ¼ cup unsalted butter
  • 1 cup ketchup
  • ½ cup orange juice
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • ½ cup honey
  • 4 ounces canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, or more to taste
  • 1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon liquid barbecue smoke
  • ½ teaspoon minced garlic
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ½ teaspoon cracked black pepper

Chicken Drumsticks:

  • 2 pounds bone-in chicken drumsticks
  • Kosher salt, to taste
  • Cracked black pepper, to taste

Preparation

For the sauce, sweat the onions in butter in a medium saucepan or small Dutch oven over medium-low heat for 5–7 minutes, until translucent and soft. Add all remaining ingredients and simmer until sauce has thickened, about 1 hour. Transfer to a blender and puree until smooth.

Preheat grill. Thoroughly pat chicken dry and season with salt and pepper. Grill over low heat (move to top rack if flames are reaching the chicken). Brush drumsticks with sauce, then turn every minute for 3 minutes until internal temperature reaches 165°F.

Remove from grill and serve with extra sauce.