Super easy, never fails, grilled chicken legs for the whole family. Pat dry, spice and cook over medium-high heat. Then you will have crispy goodness for all.
Editor's Note: Originally published June 26, 2011. Now updated with re-edited photos and text.
The "art" of the grilled chicken legs (drumsticks)... that is what I have been working on for several weeks. All the recipes I looked at said things like until "fluid runs clear" or 30 minutes over medium-high heat.
I need more precise instructions. Plus overnight marinades and lots of other magic cooking stuff. Not good for me.
My mistakes or at least the ones I remember. First, I cooked them to 165 just like I love chicken breast. They weren't done. They were tough and stringy.
Then I went to 180-190, yep just the right temp. But I cooked it too fast on high heat. Burnt skin. Char is good, burnt is bad.
I tried several spice mixes and settled on the one below. Just some kosher salt, pepper, garlic powder and cayenne pepper (but not too much of kids but just enough for the taste for adults). But just a sprinkle of salt and pepper are fine.
My Rating
An easy and tasty 5.
Pro Tips : Recipe Notes for Grilled Chicken Drumsticks
- DO NOT SKIP PAT DRY or you will not have crispy skin. (See https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/chicken-rinse-not-rinse/)
- Check the cut joint area for loose parts. You may be handing this to a child and don't need loose bone aspirated.
- You must use a thermometer to be sure you get to 185 plus. Do not guess.
- Spice as you want. I frequently add the Cayenne but if you have little ones, skip it.
- Scale to any amount you need
- Skip the seasoning and brush with your favorite BBQ sauce the last 5 minutes to make great BBQ drumsticks.
How long to Cook Chicken Legs?
Chicken drumsticks, like all chicken, should generally be grilled over medium heat on the grill. That would be a surface temperature of about 450 degrees and will take 30 to 35 minutes.
They will need to be flipped every 5 minutes or so to prevent burnt skin and to a final internal temperature of 180-185 which is best for drumsticks.
For help on grill surface temperature, please see my A Beginners Guide to Grill Temperature on a Gas Grill.
You can use a lower surface temperature, but it will add time and tend to dry more. Again, cook to the correct final internal temperature. You can not get acceptable results with a grill temperature of 500 plus.
And finally, remember that the size and thickness of the drumstick is a big variable.
Comment on the final internal temperature.
Many recipes suggest cooking chicken drumsticks to 165 which is the minimum safe internal temperature for chicken for the FDA. There is a difference between safe and done. Pork is safe at 145, but you sure won’t want your pulled pork to be cooked to 145. It would be terrible.
Also, some recipes call for cooking “until fluids run clear” or “no pink at the bone.” How are you suppose to do that? Also, I suspect that may even be below the safe minimum temperature since the pinkness disappears about 155.
While I cook my chicken breast to 165, there is way too much fibrous tissue in chicken drumsticks and thighs. They will be tough and stringy. Just plan not done. Please use 180-185 as you finish temperature. Check the comments if you need confirmation.
Charcoal Grilled Chicken Drumsticks
In the interest of helping you charcoal people, this comment was posted by Craig on Nov 8, 2016. I believe you will find it helpful
"I’ve made these several times on a charcoal grill. I use about 4 lbs of charcoal (~50 briquettes) and distribute them on one-half of the grill. Cook the drumsticks over the direct heat, but use the other side for any flare-ups or if you have smaller drumsticks that cook faster.
I’ve never measured the surface temp, but rotating every 5 minutes to get a good char until the temperature is right, seems to work out perfectly. I usually end up with 40 min of coin time and apply BBQ sauce liberally in the last 10 min.
We’ve only had success with this recipe, and we’ve found it’s hard to overlook the chicken, just avoid flames and burning early on!"
Related Recipes
Oven Baked Chicken Legs – The Art of Drummies
Crispy Oven Baked Chicken Thighs
Chicken for a Hundred The father of all of them.
Preheat grill to get a surface temp of about 450. That is medium high on a standard gas grill and medium on a hot gas grill. Clean and oil. Pat dry the drumsticks.
Trim off excess skin and any loose bones/tissue especially in the joint area.
Season to taste. You can use my 7:2:2 spice mix. A little cayenne is nice. You may want to skip the cayenne if cooking for little ones. Or use the seasoning of your choice.
Lightly sprinkle chicken on all sides to taste. Let rest at room temperature until grill is ready.
Check grill temp if possible and place chicken on the grill. Flip every 5-7 minutes until internal temp of 185-190 degrees. About 30-35 minutes.
Let rest for 10 minutes before serving. They are way too hot anyway.
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Grillied Chicken Drumsticks- The Art of Drummies
Ingredients
- 6 Chicken drumsticks
Just Salt and Pepper are fine but this is My Seasoning - this makes more than you need - keep for next time. Use only a small amount
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Pat dry the drumsticks. Trim off excess skin and any loose bones/tissue especially in the joint area.
- Now preheat grill to get a surface temp of about 450. That is medium high on a standard gas grill and medium on a hotter gas grill. Clean and oil.
- Season to your taste and do not use all the mixed seasoning. A little cayenne is nice. You may want to skip the cayenne if cooking for little ones. Just some salt and pepper will do or use seasoning of your choice.
- Lightly sprinkle chicken on all side to taste. Let rest at room temperature until grill is ready.
- Check grill temp if possible and place chicken on the grill.
- Flip every 5-7 minutes until internal temp of 185-190 degrees. About 30-35 minutes.
- Let rest for 10 minutes before serving. They are way too hot anyway.
Recipe Notes
1) Pat dry and season to taste
2) Medium grill. Hot is bad.
3) Final internal temperature of 185 plus is the key to this recipe. A note on the seasoning: Just a light salt and pepper are find but I included a nice mix that I like on these drumsticks but it makes more than you probably need. So DO NOT use all the seasoning. Season to your taste and save the remainder for another time. Charcoal instructions are in the post.
Check Out Other Great Recipes
ADJUST THE RECIPE SIZE:
You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.Nutrition
Nutrition is generally for one serving. Number of servings is stated above and is my estimate of normal serving size for this recipe.
All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.
Originally published June 26, 2011
Tom R
Great recipe! My wife loved them, normally she doesn’t like drumsticks because of the ‘stringy’ things. Cooking to 185-190 was perfect and BBQ sauce the last 10 minutes made them delicious. I also made your 7-2-2 seasoning and used it on the drumsticks and again on some steaks. Glad to find your site!
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Tom,
Welcome to the site.
Glad the drumsticks work well for you. Like most cooking, the key is in the temperature. 165 is just wrong for thighs and drumsticks.
Thanks for the note and rating.
Dan
Mother of 3
Excellent Recipe. Very well written; appreciated the why behind the how! Hubby thought they were cooking too fast and turned down the grill without my knowing...sure enough, they took longer that way! Wonderful, crispy skin. Added some Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ last 10 minutes. Perfection! Hubby and kids licked the platter clean!
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Mother of 3,
Welcome to the blog and sorry for the delayed reply.
Glad this works so well for you. I was thinking of kids as I did this but it is good for us big kids also.
Forgive the Hubby, that sounds like something I might do at times.
The "why" is how I taught my medical students for years. "What" is important but "why" will get you out of jams and help you adjust to ongoing developments.
Thanks for the note and rating. And again, sorry for the delayed response.
Dan
Jose
Very novice here. When getting the grilling temperature to 450, is this initial 450 with lid open or closed.
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Jose,
Welcome to the blog.
You want the cooking area to be about 450 degrees. Since you are cooking with the lid closed (due to the thickness of the chicken). That means to adjust that way, closed. For more help on grill surface temperature see https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/grill-temperature/
Please let me know if you have questions.
Dan
Mike M
I use a chicken leg hangar. They come out perfect without turning or hovering over them.
Ammanda
So so so good. Finally decided to go out of my comfort zone and try these!
Sarah
This went great! Thanks for all the tips!
David Patrick
Loved it. And so did my kids, ages 3,5, and 7. I brined the chicken first in a salt and sugar water brine for an hour, so I just used pepper while grilling. Delish! I'm looking forward to trying and gently ramping up the rub so my girls will like it.
Deb K
First time my grilled chicken legs were 'crispy!' Followed your recipe exactly. Delicious!
Thank you!
Amy Combs
Love love love this recipe. I've made it a few times and it always turns out great. Thank you!
Simon
Great tips, my Chicken legs came out great. Thank You!
Mikey
Hey there: Thanks for the great tips! I had cooked chicken before, but made the same mistakes over and over -- too high heat, and too low a finishing temp. I had always read 165 was the target point, but the chicken (thighs or legs) always came out kinda fatty and stringy. Taking the meat to 185 or even a little higher is the key to great texture. And the 7:2:1 seasoning mix (I also add one part smoked paprika) is all the seasoning you need. I apply it liberally, almost like I'm putting a rub on. It looks like it's going to be too salty, but it's not. The meat comes out crisp and tender and delicious. Thanks!
Len
I made this tonight. Nervous as these were big drumsticks and I’m a novice griller. I tuned every 5-7 min and boy were they crispy and juicy. My only error was not enough seasoning, but will fix that next time.
Great recipes.
Andrea
Are skinless chicken drumsticks okay for this recipe?
DrDan
Hi Andrea,
I have some doubt about this much prolonged high heat on skinless drumsticks. The method is to get crispy skin and finish the meat. If you want to do skinless, I would suggest a light olive oil brush and probable about 350 degree convection (375 regular oven) to final temp of 180-185. Probably about 45-55 minutes depending on size of drumsticks.
Dan
Esmerelda
Followed step by step and these turned out very nice, even though I think I still prefer your oven version. It's just more fun to grill :)
Nik Edmiidz
Is that celsius or fahrenheit?
DrDan
fahrenheit
Becky
So you leave the lid open or close in between clippings?
Becky
Flippings
DrDan
Hi Becky,
I hate spell check too.
Closed. General rules. Things under 1/2 inch thick can usually be cooked open. 1/2 to 1 inch is usually closed and 1 inch or more is always closed.
Dan
SMR
Thank you for this rule of thumb! I've never heard that before and it certainly helps.
Amardeep
Hi Dan.
How would I do this with open grill over hot coals.
Thanks
DrDan
My last experience with charcoal and open grilling is about 40 yrs ago. But here is my best,
You cannot be placing the chicken over high heat. The skin will be burnt black and the meat bloody. So you need to let the charcoal burn down some since it is hottest when it is about 10-15 minutes in so it needs to cool down a bit so probably about 25 minutes after lighting ( a guess) but you will need to cook at least 30 minutes and probably longer, so you need to maintain a temperature. Hard on open charcoal.
On gas, I recommend always to close the lid if the thickness is over 1 inch and you should close the lid if 1/2 to 1 inch. So frequent flipping and a bit longer grilling probably. And remember, you are cooking to a final internal temperature of 185. 165 is safe but stringy and tough.
So charcoal and the open top both present issues. Indirect cooking is possible but I have no suggestions about setup. I would probably cook something else considering the hardware limitations.
Dan
sreno7
I dried the drumsticks and brushed them with oil. It was crispy and didn't stick to the grill.
I enjoyed the spice mix except it was too salty.
amber
Have you ever tried sous-vide the drumsticks ... then throw them on grill for quick char? saves slaving over the grill for 30 min
DrDan
Hi Amber,
No, I haven't. For the readers, the term sous vide is French I believe for under vacuum. The food is vacuum sealed and cooked in hot water to a final temperature and then can be seared or finish however you want. Somewhat like reverse searing a steak but involves the sealing and water. I think it is an interesting technique and if you are so equipped, it would be interesting to try.
Dan
Ron Garstka
Well I just finished my dinner of drummies. Had a bit of a problem getting my grill DOWN to 450 during the first 5 min. Weber Spirit 310. At MEDIUM my grill surface registers in excess of 600. To get to 450 I had to turn all 3 burners to LOW. Had a bit of char after the first 5 min. but they finished up just short of 30 min total and were absolutely delicious. I have to give both the grilled chicken thighs and now the drummies a 5. Also looking forward to some ribs and steaks soon. Great library of recipes. Nice work, continue to enjoy it. Best wishes.
DrDan
Hi Ron,
Thanks for the note. I’m glad it worked well for you.
I have a Weber Summit s470 and it doesn’t run that hot. All burners on low will be about 300 range. Medium is 450 plus minus. I get almost 700 plus on high with long preheat or if I add in the 5th burner. But I’m on natural gas which will be a bit cooler than propane. The variance in grills is tremendous so those cheap little grill surface thermometers are so worth the $10. I go through 2-3 per year since they get unreadable after a while.
Dan
Johnboy
I did this but added one thing: After spicing the chicken, I carefully coated them with spray oil (Pam, etc.) It didn't affect the taste and the chicken was extra crispy.
Jackie Treehorn
Great, really easy recipe. Drummies were perfect. Meat was fall off the bone tender and skin was nice and crispy. Having a meat thermometer and slathering sauce at the end in order to avoid sugar burn was key. 5 stars!
Dave
Made this today, very salty. I'd suggest halving the salt if you're going to add barbecue or any other sauce. Was fine for naked legs.
DrDan
If I add sauce to these, I cook them bare of any spices and add the sauce for the last 5 minutes or so.
Thanks for the note
Dan