Delicious Chicken Legs On The Grill
Grilling chicken legs is one of our go-to summer meals becuase theyre easy and delicious. Seriously, these scrumptious grilled chicken legs are full of so much flavor all thanks to our homemade chicken dry rub.
We love how inexpensive chicken legs are and how easy they are to flavor up. The bone makes them super moist and flavorful. Plus, a little bit of char from the grill makes these the ultimate Spring/Summer meal that the entire family will love.
Pair your grilled chicken drumsticks with our foil pack grilled potatoes, Caprese quinoa salad, and a homemade honey lavender lemonade for the ultimate summer meal.
Grilling The Perfect Chicken Drumsticks
Grilling chicken drumsticks can be tricky if you don’t know what you’re doing or are new to grilling. Well this guide is for you. We have been working on perfecting our grilled chicken drums for a while. We love grilling in the summer months and this is how we get that slightly charred, fully cooked, tender, fall off the bone chicken.
How Can You Tell If Chicken Drumsticks Are Cooked
Just piercing to their bone will tell you if they are done. Chicken leg isnt cooked until its juice runs clear . This article is about chicken thighs. You can find more information about cooking poultry on this page. Also, you might want read about how to cook chicken breasts. This article covers chicken thigh. However, if there is no need to know about which kind of chicken you are cooking, this article can cover chicken breast.
You May Like: How Good Are Pellet Grills
Why You Will Love These Chicken Drumsticks:
- They only require 5 minutes of prep. Add some oil, rub in the spices and you are set for the grill. Making these grilled chicken drumsticks will not take much of your time at all.
- Super simple to make and so flavorful. The only requirement when making these is to flip every 5 minutes or so. That is it. For that little amount of work, the tender, delicious chicken is so worth it!
- Chicken legs are a great source of iron and zinc and other essential nutrients. Dark chicken meat is often deemed unhealthy, but it is not at all. Chicken legs contain higher quantities of B vitamins, iron and zinc. The fat content is slightly higher, but fat is not the enemy it once was and the fats are healthier than other fat sources.
- Great for meal prep.You can season and prep the chicken drumsticks up to 24 hours in advance and then toss them on the grill when ready. You can then set it aside wrapped in the fridge for a great protein for much of the week!
How To Make These Drumsticks
- Mix the spices together: First, in a mixing bowl, add drumsticks, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, paprika, ginger, salt, and pepper.
- Using your clean hands, generously rub the seasoning all over the drumsticks.Refrigerate to allow the seasonings to penetrate the meat, for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven: Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350F and line a roasting tin with aluminum foil for easycleanup, if desired.
- Bake the drumsticks: Then, transfer the chicken drumsticks to the prepared roasting tin arranging them on the wire rack with a little space in between. Bake, in the middle of the oven, for 40 minutes, flipping half time.
- Add the BBQ sauce: When the time is up, remove from the oven and brush each chicken drumstick with BBQ sauce. Return to the oven and bake for 10 minutes, then flip the drumsticks and repeat the process once again.
- Enjoy: Finally, serve immediately and enjoy them!
Don’t Miss: Who Has The Best Price On Weber Grills
Oven Baked Chicken Drumsticks Grilled
by admin
Sharing is caring!
My trick for perfectly cooked, grilled bbq chicken drumsticks is baking them. Yes, baking them first. If you’ve ever grilled chicken drumsticks before, you know they take a long time and take up a lot of real estate on the grill. Maybe it is just me, but I am usually slinging burgers, hot dogs, and corn too, so I don’t usually have a ton of room to spare. Chicken drumsticks take about 30-40 minutes of indirect heat to cook thoroughly on the grill. My oven baked chicken drumsticks are perfect for barbecues because they cook in the oven and take as much time on the grill as cooking hot dogs.
How Do You Tell If Grilled Drumsticks Are Done
If you are cooking chickens legs over the fire and would like to see if they are done, simply pore to their bones with kitchen scissors. They are cooked when their juices flow clear . The chicken leg is cooked until its flesh is firm and tender. This is called the doneness of chicken.
You May Like: How Do You Cook Shrimp On The Grill
Cooking Temperatures Thermometers And Food Safety
When it comes to checking the temperature of cooked chicken nothing can replace a quality digital, instant-read thermometer. They are highly accurate, fast and reliable.
I will touch on other methods to check for doneness if you dont have one, but nothing is better or safer. I STRONGLY recommend you have an instant-read digital thermometer before you cook your first piece of chicken! If you dont have one, check out our guide to the best instant-read thermometers.
Now that you have a thermometer in hand, you need to know the temperature of a properly cooked piece of chicken.
How Long Should You Grill Drumsticks At 350
The length of time drumsticks need to grill depends on the type of cooking method you are using. For example, if you use a charcoal grill, drumsticks should be grilled for about 10-15 minutes on each side. But if you are using an outdoor gas grill, they only need to be grilled for 5-6 minutes per side.
To find out how long your drumsticks will take to grill, check the instructions that came with your outdoor gas grill or outdoor grill. If your instructions dont include any information about grilling time, use these guidelines for grilling times.
You May Like: Does Home Depot Assemble Grills
How Long To Grill Chicken Drumsticks
Chicken drumstick, unlike other chicken parts, are best grilled on a grill over high heat, which will bring the surface temperatures to about 500°. This will only take about 20 minutes to cook the chicken. If you prefer to grill the drum sticks on their own, youll want to let the meat rest for about 15 minutes before grilling. You can also grill them on an outdoor grill, using indirect heat.
Why We Love This Recipe
Call me a grillin fool, but this week alone Ive grilled pork kebabs, rack of lamb, and bruschetta chicken. Im not sure if its obvious enough, but can you tell Im excited about grilling season?
So when I got my Porter Road delivery today, naturally, I just had to make these bbq grilled chicken drumsticks next. Theyre kind of a summer classic, because you can eat them with your hands and everybody just loves them.
I like to make them with my homemade bbq sauce , but you can use a store-bought kind, or a Keto friendly bbq sauce, depending on your dietary restrictions.
In this recipe, the drumsticks are generously seasoned with an awesome sugar-free bbq seasoning blend, then grilled to crispy, juicy perfection.
Last, theyre brushed with bbq so they get that beautiful, sticky, glazed deliciousness. It truly doesnt get better than this!
Now keep in mind there are some important tips & tricks when you learn how to cook chicken drumsticks on the grill. Ill walk you through it all, but if youd rather cook your chicken in the oven or air fryer, Ive got you! Just see the adaptations below.
- Chicken Drumsticks
- Olive Oil
- BBQ Sauce. Make your own homemade bbq sauce, or any store-bought Whole30 compatible BBQ Sauce. To keep this recipe Keto/Low Carb, choose a sugar free BBQ sauce.
- BBQ Spice Blend: Smoked paprika, onion powder, chili powder, salt, pepper, onion powder and cayenne pepper .
Also Check: How To Cook Steak On Infrared Grill
How Long To Grill Chicken For Perfect Texture And Moisture
Chicken comes in many different forms: Whole, wings, thighs, breasts, bone-in and out How long does each cut need grilling for, to be safe for eating, and tasty too? What if you grill for too long? Or not long enough? Read on for the details.
How long to grill chicken? The answer mostly depends upon these two things: The size of the chicken piece including bone content and the temperature of the grill.
The more bones a piece of chicken has, the longer it will take to cook. The drumstick and thighs, for example, have the biggest bones and will take the longest to cook compared to other parts.
The other element is the temperature of your BBQ. The lower the temperature, the more time you will need.
In this article, we will explore the different chicken parts, the factors that can affect how long it takes to grill them, and describe in detail the time and temp required for grilling each different cut.
Having this knowledge will help you plan your cook of the perfect bird. No more guesswork, or embarrassing chicken fiascos.
So lets begin with perhaps the most important thing to consider first, the temperature inside and out.
Contents
How Do You Prepare Chicken Drumsticks For Grilling
Once you have selected fresh and quality drumsticks, you need to prepare them for grilling. Among the critical steps include thawing and seasoning/ marinating.
Thaw/defrost your drumsticks
If you have your chicken drumsticks stored in a freezer, you should defrost/ thaw them until they attain room temperature. One way to defrost drumsticks is by removing them from the freezer at least 24 hours prior to cooking. Then put them in a fridge to defrost gradually.
Another technique of thawing frozen chicken drumsticks is putting them in a sealable plastic bag and submerging them in cold water until they attain room temperature. This process takes about 30 minutes.
Note: chicken should be cooked immediately or within 2 hours after attaining room temperature. Once it surpasses the above timeframe, it gets into a danger zone where dangerous bacteria start to multiply quickly.
Season/ marinate the drumsticks
While preparing your drumsticks before grilling, the second thing you should do is seasoning or marinating them. It depends on your preference. The aim is to enhance the flavor and taste of the drumsticks.
How long do you have to marinate your drumsticks? About a 30 minutes period is enough. However, other people marinate theirs overnight.
Note: it is essential to wash your chicken drumsticks before you marinate them.
The other method is simply by seasoning the drumsticks with your favorite dry rub and olive oil.
Precook your drumsticks
Also Check: How To Clean An Old Grill Grate
Should I Remove Skin From Drumsticks
The temperature of your grill should be about 350 degrees Fahrenheit in its whole configuration.. In other words, you can expect moist and tasty chicken from beginning to end. Check the temperature of your chicken breasts while it cooks by inserting a good internal thermometer into the thickest section of the breasts.
Grilled Chicken Legs Ingredients
- Chicken legs: I buy a two pound package that has about eight legs.
- Olive oil: This adds flavor and keeps them from sticking to the grill
- Seasoning dry rub: Sea salt, black pepper, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and chili powder
See that right there. Thats all you need for this recipe. I love that I have everything on hand and just have to grab some chicken legs!
Recommended Reading: How Do You Make Corn On The Grill
The Key To Perfectly Grilled Chicken:
Precook it in the oven ahead of time so you know its fully cooked and ready for the grill. Cooking it ahead of time also lets you cook it slowly, which yields nice, juicy, and tender meat. And, it gives you time to put your feet up during grilling season because most of the work is done beforehand.
Weight Watchers Chicken Drumsticks
While it is hard to fully track something like grilled chicken drumsticks, here is a helpful guide with three different barbecue sauce varieties–typical store bought, sugar free, and dry. All three are delicious, but they have different calorie and point differences. Typically, even with the three layers of sauce, I use only about 2 tbsp. of barbecue sauce per drumstick. If you are looking for some low calorie of Weight Watchers friendly barbecue sauces, here is a guide I made.
- Sweet Baby Rays – 503 calories, 40 g Protein, 31 g Sugar, 22 g Fat – All WW PLANS: 13 SP for 2 drumsticks
- g Hughes – 381 calories, 40 g Protein, 0 g Sugar, 22 g Fat – All WW PLANS: 6 SP for 2 drumsticks
- No Sauce – 361 calories, 40 g Protein, 0 g Sugar, 22 g Fat – All WW PLANS: 5 SP for 2 drumsticks
Read Also: How To Make An Awesome Grilled Cheese
Final Thoughts On Grilling Chicken
Chicken is on the top of the list for lean cuts for a good reason it tastes great, cooks fast, and is very affordable. There are almost endless ways to prepare chicken, but one of the most popular is to grill it.
Everyone loves BBQ chicken, but most make quite a few mistakes trying to grill the perfect piece. For me, a properly cooked piece of chicken is easy to pull off! Its juicy, packed with flavor, and doesnt dry out.
A perfectly grilled piece of chicken will be well-rounded on all fronts.
However, grilling chicken can be tricky. Many amateur grillers find that its pretty easy to dry out the chicken and make it taste like charcoal briquettes, or not cook it all the way through.
There is more to grilling chicken than just slapping it on the grill and letting it cook until the outside is brown.
The best part of grilling perfect chicken is that it isnt a difficult task. It requires only a bit of preparation and patience once it hits the grill.
Be sure to use fresh chicken, and you can always opt for chicken thighs if you are looking for more flavor than white meat can offer.
Take a deep breath, relax and get ready to knock out some grilled chicken meals using our advice and tips. Happy grilling!
How Long To Grill Chicken Legs
These chicken legs take about 30 minutes on the grill over direct heat.
They need to reach an internal temperature of 165°F, but we prefer them at 185 190°F otherwise you sometimes end up with a little blood around the bone.
Cooking to a higher temperature will give you crispy chicken legs that are juicy and delicious!
Read Also: How To Prep Steak For Grilling
Grab Some Extra Napkins & Dig In
Once you learn this method for grilling chicken drumsticks, I predict it will be your go-to method from now on. Your patience will be rewarded with grilled chicken drumsticks that are so tender and juicy, youre going to need some extra napkins to wipe your mouth and hands. Enjoy!
You may enjoy these other grilled chicken recipes:
For Large Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts:
This is because it takes longer for bones to thaw and heat up. Massage the spices into the meat as well. Add liquid to the pan.
Place the drumsticks skin side down on direct heat . 27.in this case, put it in the oven and wait for a few minutes. Of course, smaller parts of the chicken will take less time to boil than larger parts.
The wizardry number is really in the warmth of the chicken. Set the oven to 350°f or 177°c to preheat. Rotate the drumsticks again and cook for another 10 minutes or until the meat is crisp, the meat is tender when pierced with a fork, and a meat thermometer inserted into the deepest part of the meat reads 170 degrees fahrenheit.
You can check for the doneness temperature with a meat thermometer. But this also depends on how many pieces of chicken youâre frying at a time. Now is the time to cover it with.
Remember than opening your oven lets the heat out, which can slow down the cooking so donât be overzealous with how many times you check the chicken. 2 days agoseason your chicken with salt and pepper or your favorite seasonings. Cooking time on this one can be tricky.
Large chicken legs should be boiled for 35 to 40 minutes before checking if they’re cooked through. The dark meat of chicken thighs and drumsticks will stay tender and juicy even if you accidentally overcook them, and the legs are arguably the most. Season the drumsticks with salt and pepper and sprinkle a little olive oil over them.
Also Check: How To Clean Traeger Grill Grates
Grilled Bbq Chicken Drumsticks
| This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
These grilled BBQ chicken drumsticks are out of this world! Theyre easy to make and jam packed with bbq flavor, plus super juicy and perfectly sticky. Make them on a busy weeknight or for your next backyard bbq or cookout. And guess what? Theyre Whole30 compatible and Keto friendly!
This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon affiliate, I earn on qualifying purchases.
Why Make Your Own Dry Rub
What we love about making our own dry rub at home is that there are no additives. You can also monitor the amount of salt, spice, and sweetness your rub has, which is great for so many reasons. One thing I recommend with this rub is making a double or triple batch of it to have on hands at all times!
If you arent feeling a dry rub, you can try our grilled chicken marinade instead.
Check it out!
Don’t Miss: Where To Buy Lynx Grills
