Delicious Grilled BBQ Chicken Drumsticks - marinated, grilled, and coated in BBQ sauce! These chicken drumsticks are so tender and flavorful you'll be making them all summer long!
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Chicken Drumsticks On The Grill!
Because my main guy is all about some juicy tender BBQ, I decided to showcase these Grilled BBQ Chicken Drumsticks today in his honor! The B man LOVES him some barbecue!
Happy Father’s Day to my dude crew out there! Thanks for loving and leading your families. For protecting and providing… for making us laugh, for showing us love, and for just being you!
Let’s hear it for the boys!!!
I'm serving up these Grilled BBQ Chicken Drumsticks for all my meat-loving men (and women)!!
These drumsticks are all kinds of special my friend. And if you or your guy are not into the drummies then use whatever cut of meat you’d like… thighs, chicken breasts, or even chicken wings. They are crazy good!
And it all starts with the marinade. A sweet, savory, and (a little bit) spicy sauce that the meat hangs out in for 2-24 hours. I’m not gonna lie – it does amazing things to this chicken. It not only infuses flavor but it makes the chicken legs sooo tender.
It’s very similar to the marinade we use for our BBQ Baby Back Ribs but the ratios are recalculated for this recipe.
So brilliant – right!??
These easy grilled chicken legs are marinated, grilled, and then basted with… wait for it… some more delicious BBQ sauce.
They are sooo good! I literally can’t stop eating these grilled chicken legs… And I’m usually a chicken breast girl. Whaaaa!?? Crazy talk!
And all I can say is strange things are afoot over here people, in the best way possible.
Trust me when I tell you this is a standout among drumstick recipes - especially when it comes to summertime grilling. Shall I disclose the details of this BBQ amazingness?
How to make grilled BBQ chicken drumsticks:
Place the chicken legs in a resealable plastic bag.
Mix brown sugar, 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. Marinate in the refrigerator for 2 hours to 12 hours.
Turn your grill on and let it heat up to 400 degrees. Then on one side of the grill turn half of the burners off. I have 4 burners so I turned off two on the right side.
Remove the chicken from the marinade and shake off any excess liquid. Now spray the drumsticks with grill spray and place them on the side of the grill that is turned off.
Grill the chicken for 7 minutes on the first side with the grill closed. Putting the drumsticks over the burners that are turned off prevents the skin from burning.
Spray the other side of the drumsticks with cooking spray then flip them over close the grill and cook for 12-13 more minutes, or until their internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Remove and baste with BBQ sauce then allow to rest for 5 minutes.
Note: If you want more grill makes place them over the burners that are on for a minute or two.
These tasty Grilled BBQ chicken drumsticks will make any dad super glad! Not to mention all the others that are fortunate enough to share them with you!
Thanks, guys for all you do!
Grilled BBQ Chicken Drumsticks
BBQ Chicken Legs marinated, grilled and then basted with delicious bbq sauce!
Ingredients
- 2.5-3 pounds chicken drumsticks (9-10 chicken legs)
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ⅓ cup apple cider vinegar
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1 teaspoon salt & pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne (use more if desired!)
- Grill spray
- BBQ Sauce of your choosing (see note below for homemade version*)
Instructions
- Place the chicken legs in a resealable plastic bag.
- Mix brown sugar, 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. Marinate in the refrigerator for 2 hours to 12 hours.
- Turn your grill on and let it heat up to 400 degrees. Then on one side of the grill turn half of the burners off. I have 4 burners so I turned off two on the right side.
- Remove the chicken from the marinade and shake off any excess liquid. Now spray the drumsticks with grill spray and place them on the side of the grill that is turned off.
- Grill the chicken for 7-8 minutes on the first side with the grill closed. Putting the drumsticks over the burners that are turned off prevents the skin from the drumsticks from burning.
- Spray the other side of the drumsticks with cooking spray then flip them over close the grill and cook for 12-13 more minutes, or until their internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. (If you want more grill makes place them over the burners that are on for a minute or two.)
- Remove the drumsticks and baste with BBQ sauce then allow them to rest for 5 minutes. Add more BBQ sauce if you desire and enjoy!
Note: If you want more grill makes place them over the burners that are on for a minute or two.
Notes
For the BBQ sauce, I recommend this homemade BBQ sauce we use on our ribs. But your favorite store-bought BBQ sauce will work too!
If you want more grill makes place them over the burners that are on for a minute or two.
Nutrition Information
Yield
10Serving Size
1 DrumstickAmount Per Serving Calories 283Total Fat 12gSaturated Fat 3gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 8gCholesterol 173mgSodium 289mgCarbohydrates 8gFiber 0gSugar 6gProtein 33g
This nutrition card uses an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. This estimate is not a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice!
Trina
Silly question: Do you mince the garlic?
Bryan
Hi Trina, yes you sure do mince the garlic before adding to the marinade. Enjoy! 🙂
Pam
Am I reading this right? Cook legs 5min. a side? How can they be done?
I just made the marinade and I love the taste.
Bryan
Hi Pam, it will depend somewhat on the size of your drumsticks, and you should use a meat thermometer to ensure that they reach 165F safe cooking temp. Having said that, the drumsticks we use here are a little on the smaller side so yours may need longer if they are bigger! Enjoy! 🙂
Adam
My thoughts exactly. In what world are drumsticks done in 10 minutes? They need 35-45 minutes.
holly
Hi Adam, I just retested this recipe and the cooking time was still around 15 minutes. I used a digital meat thermometer to make sure they were cooked to 165 degrees. One thing to think about is the size of the chicken legs - the ones I grilled were small to normal size.
Jackie
Can I make this ahead and freeze until I'm ready to use?
Bryan
Hi Jackie we've not tested that out but we'd suggest freezing in ziploc bag, then thaw in fridge for 24 hours when you want to eat them. To reheat, Put them on a a parchment-lined baking sheet, drizzle on a little more BBQ sauce, then bake for 15-20 minutes at 350F. Enjoy!
Rebekkah
Can I make this on the stove? Or bake it?
Bryan
Hi Rebekkah, we'd suggest baking them on a parchment-lined baking sheet, at 425F for 40 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 165F. You may also consider switching the oven to broil for a minute or two at the end to crisp them up. If you do broil them you'll want to watch them closely to ensure they don't burn. Please let us know how they turn out! 🙂 - H&B
Jacqueline Debono
This is great we are having a BBQ tomorrow and I bought drumsticks! Can't wait to try your recipe!
Bryan
We'd love to know how they turned out!
penelopi
I make a similar recipe but instead of using meat I use tofu and a slightly different sauce. I tried your sauce and it was ,oh my! delicious!
Bryan
Hi Penelopi, glad you were able to make your own creation out of it! Enjoy!!