Grilled chicken legs with ginger sauce

Ingredients:

• 6 chicken legs (1.8 - 2 kg)
• 2 tablespoons ground ginger
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 liters ginger beer
• 6 bags of black tea
• 3/4 cup chopped onion
• 800 g canned diced tomato pulp
• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
• 3 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 12 sprigs of thyme
• 120 g butter, melted

Preparation:

1. Rinse the chicken legs under water and pat dry. Mix ground ginger with 2 tablespoons of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper. Rub half of the mixture over the chicken legs. Chill the legs, uncovered, in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
2. Prepare ginger sauce: Pour the ginger beer into a large skillet, cover, and bring to a boil. Uncover and simmer at a high heat until the liquid has reduced by half, about 30 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the tea bags, and let steep for 10 minutes. Remove the tea bags when done. Add the onion, tomatoes, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, and thyme. Return the skillet to the heat and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened, about 50 minutes. Then strain the sauce through a sieve. Discard the thyme sprigs.
3. Remove the chicken legs from the refrigerator and let them sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Preheat the grill to medium heat.
4. Brush the drumsticks with some of the butter and sprinkle with some of the remaining ground ginger mixture. Place the drumsticks skin-side up on the cooler side of the grill, cover, and cook until they begin to brown, about 18 minutes. Halfway through cooking, baste the drumsticks with butter and sprinkle with the ground ginger mixture. Brush the drumsticks generously with the ginger sauce. Cover the grill and continue cooking until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 165°F (72°C), about 20 minutes, basting the drumsticks occasionally with the ginger sauce.
5. Brush the drumsticks again with butter, then flip them skin-side down and place them on the hotter side of the grill. Grill, uncovered, until grill marks appear, about 2 minutes. Rotate the drumsticks to create a grid pattern and continue grilling for another 2 minutes. Transfer the drumsticks to a cutting board and let them rest for 10 minutes. Serve the grilled chicken drumsticks with the remaining ginger sauce.