Seasoned And Grilled Chicken Drumsticks
You can double this recipe if you have a larger contact grill. Mine is the smallest one that fits neatly under my range hood to allow for the smoke to be sucked out of the kitchen.
Ingredients:
- 1 TBS garlic infused olive oil*
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
Directions:
1. Rinse the chicken legs and pat dry with paper towels. Place the oil, salt, pepper, and herbs on a plate. Put the legs in the wet rub and turn to coat. Dont be afraid to get your hands in there to press the mixture into the skin of the meat. Put this aside to sit for 60 to 90 minutes.
2. Preheat your GF contact grill to high with the top closed. This takes approximately 5 minutes.
3. When the grill is hot, place the drums on the grill alternating the fat and thin portions. In other words, lay them head to toe, side by side so they will fit. Close the top. Set a timer for 5 minutes. Grill and rotate/change position every 5 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 170°F at the thickest portion. The heftiest pieces may take 20 minutes. You will know when the legs are cooked through when the skin side up is bubbling upon opening the grill.
4. Remove the drumsticks to a clean cutting board and allow them to rest for at least 5 minutes before serving. Serve with plenty of napkins as these are best eaten by hand.
But Im Here To Tell You That Grilled Chicken Drumsticks Are The Real Gem
Theyre incredibly easy to make, no marinating required.Budget friendly!The meat stays juicy and tender, infused with smoky flavor. And they acquire a crispy skin without frying.
Chicken drumsticks are an affordable cut of meat and with just a simple salt and pepper seasoning, theyre ready for the grill in a matter of minutes. And you could make this Grilled Potato Salad to serve with them!
Recipe Variations And Tips:
- Cooking the Chicken This is the perfect wrap to prepare your chicken ahead of time. You can also use rotisserie chicken or leftover baked chicken.
- Caesar Dressing We used store bought dressing but you can easily make your owe with simple ingredients.
- Lettuce A traditional caesar salad is made with Romaine lettuce but you can use whatever type of lettuce you have on hand.
- Combine Ingredients We like to mix all the Caesar Salad ingredients together in a bowl, but you can build your wrap separately. Add more dressing if you like a lot.
- Wrap Change the wrap to a flat bread or place on a hoagie. We like to use a flour tortilla. To make is a low carb option, use a low carb tortilla. You can also just mix the ingredients and eat it as a chicken Caesar salad.
- Change the Protein You can even make this wrap with shrimp, steak or leftover turkey. That is why I love making a wrap as it is the perfect way to use up leftover meat.
- Change the Dressing Make this wrap by changing the dressing. You can make this wrap with ranch dressing or lighten it up with Italian Dressing.
- Lemon Juice For added flavor, squeeze in some fresh lemon juice with the chicken caesar ingredients.
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How Do You Start A Gas Grill
Its a lot easier than you think! Keep in mind this will depend on the type of grill you have, but this is what works for my Char-Broil.
First, youll turn the gas on, think lefty-loosey for most grills. Youll then turn the knob on the ignition burner, which should be marked as such, to the flame symbol. From here, just hold down the ignition button until it lights. Once its lit, you can turn the other burns on if needed!
There ya go! Youre cooking with gas. Quite literally.
To turn it off, I was taught to turn off the gas first, then turn the knobs to the off position. This may depend on your grill, though, so be sure to read up on your specific brand!
How To Make Baked Bbq Drumsticks
Homemade baked drumsticks are super easy to make with chicken drumsticks and a homemade barbecue sauce. You’ll find the full step-by-step recipe below, but here’s what you can expect:
Start by making the barbecue sauce, with ketchup, vinegar, water, brown sugar, butter, salt, Worcestershire sauce, dry mustard, and chili powder. Coat the drumsticks with the sauce, then bake them until the juices run clear and the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
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What To Serve With Chicken Caesar Wrap
- Soup This Chicken Caesar Wrap would be delicious served with your favorite soup. Soup and salad is the perfect combination for both lunch or dinner.
- Fruit Make a fruit salad for a light and refreshing side dish.
- Chips Serve this wrap with your favorite chips for a delicious lunch
- Roasted Vegetables While you are grilling out your chicken, make some broccoli or carrots for a delicious side with this wrap.
Grilled Chicken Drumsticks Recipe
Follow the recipe, and Ill teach you the simple steps to making your own grilled chicken drumsticks at home. Hey Grill Hey is dedicated to help you make better BBQ, feed the people you love, and become a backyard BBQ hero. You can find more of my smoking and grilling recipes and videos on , , or our .
Heres hoping you loved this chicken legs recipe. Its kid-friendly and makes for the easiest weekday dinner. They were a huge hit in our family and Im sure theyll do the same for yours.
Quick note: This post was originally published in July 2019. We recently updated it with more information and helpful tips. The recipe remains the same.
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Secrets To Making The Best Grilled Chicken Legs
This recipe is an improved version of the old one I posted on this page. There were two obvious reasons for the change. One is that the recipe had brown sugar and it made it almost impossible to properly brown the skin without some burning here and there. Not a huge problem but Id rather avoid it if I could. The other one is aesthetics and visual appeal. Somehow plain dry rub without any oil does not look so appetizing on grilled chicken legs. Here is the picture of the product of the old recipe, see the difference? So, in a nutshell, brown sugar is out and is substituted by dark soy sauce for some sweetness and color. Olive oil is in for better browning and visual appeal.
The Secret To Perfect Grilled Bbq Chicken
The secret to the best, juiciest, most tender, almost fall-off-the-bone, perfectly cooked grilled BBQ chicken lies in the cooking method!
The term of 2 zone grilling used to intimidate me until I learned that its only a fancy term for direct and indirect heat (one area of the grill on, and another area off! Big whoop!
Because barbecue sauce has a high sugar content, it can burn easily. Grilling the chicken with the sauce over high heat produces chicken that is burnt on the outside while the inside is still raw.
Grilling Zones
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Why This Recipe Works
- This is one of my go-to easy dinner recipes that my kids love. They are so easy to make, they are off the grill in 30 minutes.
- They are an inexpensive recipe to make thats always a hit!
- Perfectly crispy skin! Dont forget to pat the legs to dry them before putting the rub on. This gets you that crispy skin.
How Do I Grill Chicken Drumsticks Without Burning Them
I have a few tricks that help me with this grilled chicken legs recipe:
- I like cooking the chicken at a low heat to make sure it doesnt burn on the actual grill itself.
- Bring your chicken drumsticks to room temperature first to help lower the amount of temperature change the chicken needs to get to which will also help with creating some crispy skin on the outside.
- Quarter turn your chicken pieces to ensure each side is on the grill grates at one point for those gorgeous grill marks.
- I personally avoid basting the bbq chicken legs too early on or else the sugars in the sauce may burn. I dont even use olive oil on the chicken or the grill!
- Keep an eye on your grill. If you notice that the front burns hotter than the back, move the chicken pieces around to evenly cook them.
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How Do You Grill Drumsticks Without Burning Them
After grilling chicken hundreds of times, I can confidently say that the flames are not your friend when cooking chicken drumsticks.
Dont get me wrong, grilling is still my preferred method for cooking chicken, but cooking directly over scorching flames can leave the chicken skin burnt and unappetizing with the interior barely cooked through.
Most gas grills have a bun rack that seldom gets used. But its the perfect place for allowing chicken legs to both roast and grill at the same time. The bun rack is usually about 6 inches above your grills grates, so its the perfect distance from the flames.
If you don’t have a bun rack, we’ll discuss a method called “two-zone cooking,” which is the most effective way to grill drumsticks without burning them.
Step 1: Find a place on the grill, like the bun rack, where the chicken drumsticks can still get plenty of heat without being kissed by the grills flames.
Step 2: If your gas grill doesn’t have a bun rack, light one or two burners only and place the chicken over the area where the other, unlit burner would normally be blazing.
Step 3: With a charcoal grill, push the charcoal to one side of the grill and cook the chicken on the side opposite of the hot coals.
Step 4: Rotate the chicken legs frequently while grilling to make sure they cook evenly.
How To Grill Drumsticks To Ensure Tender Juicy Meat
Regardless of whether you opt for charcoal or gas heat only one side of the grill in order to have an area with indirect heat.
Gas grill. Clean, close lid and heat one side to 350 F.
Charcoal grill. Light a full chimney with your choice of charcoal and after the coals are nearly covered with white pour them over one side of the grill.
- While the grill is heating remove the drumsticks from the brine and pat them dry with a paper towel, then apply the dry rub.
- Place the seasoned drumsticks on the side near the direct heat, not over it and close the lid.
- About 20-25 minutes after you start grilling the drumsticks move the ones closer to the heat source to the periphery and the ones that were farther away closer in . Switching them around like this will allow them to cook evenly and be done at the same time.
- Once the drumsticks reach internal temperature 185 F you can move them to the area over the direct heat for just a couple of minutes to char them. Optional: before you char the drumsticks you can use the grill surface directly over the heat to simultaneously grill veggies .
NOTE: Even though chicken is generally safe to eat at 165 F we recommend that you slowly let it reach 185 F as specified above. This will ensure that the drumsticks are tender as the strong collagen in their connective tissue will break down. The more time spent above 165 F, the more liquefied collagen.
Perfectly tender and juicy drumsticks with nicely rendered skin fat.
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Chicken Thighs Vs Chicken Legs
While the term chicken leg is regularly used interchangeably with the term drumstick, technically the leg can refer to the full leg quarter, consisting of both the thigh and drumstick. For the purposes of this post, if were talking about a chicken leg, were talking about a chicken drumstick, and vice versa.
How To Grill Chicken Legs Drummies
How long to cook drumsticks?
Place your chicken on the preheated grill and cook with the lid closed for 30 to 35 minutes, flipping every 5 minutes.
Maintain your grill temp around 400 degrees throughout the entire cook. Its fine if it fluctuates, they always do.
Internal temp of the meat is the most important thing.
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Best Homemade Dry Rub For Chicken Legs
Weve paired our favorite dry rub from Fit Foodie Finds with this recipe to create the ultimate crunchy, flavorful, and delicious grilled chicken leg recipe and we highly suggest following the recipe to a tee! Heres what youll need for the dry rub:
Want to add more heat? Add in a pinch of cayenne pepper.
How Long Do You Cook Drumsticks In The Oven
Method 2 of 4: Grilling Turkey Drumsticks Article in PDF format
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Grilled Chicken Caesar Wrap Recipe:
You are going to love this Grilled Chicken Caesar Wrap Recipe. The perfect wrap to enjoy with leftover chicken and simple seasoning. I love wraps as it part sandwich and part salad all wrapped in a tortilla.
If you love wraps as much as we do, you must try this Copycat Chick-Fil-A Grilled Cool Wrap Recipe. It is easy to make and it will save you money by making it at home.
These wraps are easy to make and require simple ingredients. It is light, healthy but still bursting with flavor. You can wrap these ingredients in flour tortilla, a flatbread or a pita for a delicious sandwich.
How To Make Grilled Bbq Chicken Drumsticks:
Place the chicken legs in a resealable plastic bag. Mix brown sugar, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, minced garlic cloves, onion powder, smoked paprika, dry mustard, salt & pepper and a pinch of cayenne together and pour it over the chicken. Allow the chicken to marinate in the sauce in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours.
When its time, grab your grill brush and give each grill grate a good scrub, then preheat the grill to 400 degrees. You want the grill temperature to be between a medium heat and a high heat.
Spray the chicken drumsticks with grill spray and grill for 4-5 minutes on both sides. Keep an eye on them because the sugar in the sauce can caramelize and burn. The internal temperature of the chicken should reach 165 degrees. Pro tip: I do love a digital instant read meat thermometer it makes checking the cook temps super easy .
Remove the chicken from the grill and baste with your favorite BBQ sauce. Then allow the drumsticks to cool for 5 minutes and serve.
Im just going to warn you, it requires a lot of restraint to not pick up one of these BBQ chicken legs and just devour it right off the grill. But that would not be good trust me the wait is so worth it!!
Theyre all saucy and caramelized and grilled to perfection. And if you need another amazing grilled chicken recipe idea, try my Grilled Chicken Caprese with Balsamic Sauce. Or, if you find yourself without a grill, dad will surely love these low carb garlic parmesan wings.
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Getting The Crispy And Caramelized Skin
Nicely caramelized and crispy skin is the icing on the cake. Its the best part. You get it by grilling at a fairly high temperature of about 300F-350F at the grate level. Lower and you wont get proper skin crispness. Higher and you will burn the chicken skin.
Specifics are important in getting the right result. I dont like guesswork and like the simplicity of using a good BBQ thermometer. It makes grilling a joy, without any stress. I even use my BBQ thermometer when I roast chicken in the oven.
A Quick Rub To Flavorize Chicken Legs
The key phrase here is quick. I am a big fan of marinating chicken, because it works and helps attain deep, balanced flavor profiles. If youve tried my Killer chicken thigh marinade you know what I am talking about. But, despite what some recipes claim, marination needs at least 2-4 hours to be effective, and preferably longer, like overnight and up to 24 hours. Thats not always possible. More often than not I dont plan ahead and tend to look for a quick recipe that does not require a lot of prep time.
In this recipe all it takes is 5 minutes to prepare the rub and apply it on the chicken, which is immediately ready to go on the grill. This is it! All you have to do is mix together some granulated garlic and onions, black pepper and salt, add some dark soy sauce for sweetness and some cayenne for a little kick, rub the chicken with the spice mix and throw on the grill.
Then, magically, the cheapest part of the chicken becomes some of the best que youve ever had. I think what makes these grilled chicken legs so special is the balance of sweet and salty, subtle pepper, garlic and onion flavors and a nice kick from the cayenne pepper. There are no overpowering ingredients, and the flavors are clean.
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