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1
Combine the water, kosher salt, sugar, and curing salt in a large non-reactive container. Stir until all solids are fully dissolved. Submerge the turkey drumsticks completely, weighing them down if necessary. Refrigerate for 24–48 hours. The brine is complete when the salt and cure have penetrated to the bone — a cross-section of the thickest part will show no grey interior flesh.
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2
Remove the drumsticks from the brine. Rinse under cold water and pat dry. Allow to rest uncovered on a rack, refrigerated, for at least 1 hour so the surface dries. The skin should feel tacky and dry to the touch — this is the pellicle that will hold the smoke colour.
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3
Set up the smoker for indirect heat at 110–120°C. Add the hardwood. This is where the dish lives or dies: maintaining the temperature strictly between 110–120°C throughout the cook is essential — if the heat climbs above this range, the skin will char and tighten before the interior reaches temperature; if it falls below, the cook extends without benefit. The smoke should be thin and blue, not white and billowing.
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4
Place the drumsticks on the smoker grate, not directly over the heat source. Smoke for 3–4 hours, replenishing the wood as needed to maintain a steady presence of thin smoke throughout the cook. Do not open the lid unnecessarily.
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5
The drumsticks are done when the skin has turned a deep mahogany brown and the internal temperature at the thickest point of the meat — clear of the bone — reads 74°C on an instant-read thermometer. The meat should yield visibly when pressed and pull away from the bone in clean strips.
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6
Serve immediately, by hand, with no accompaniment. The flesh throughout will be pink — this is correct and is the result of the curing salt, not undercooking. The colour is the signature of the cure.