Grilling Chicken Drumsticks &#8211; The Art of Drummies

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Super easy, never fails, grilled drumsticks for the whole family. Pat dry, spice and cook over medium-high heat. Then you will have crispy goodness for all.

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. 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).

My Rating

An easy and tasty 5.

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.

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. Cool the drumsticks over the direct heat, but use the other side for any flair 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!”

Update: (June 23, 2012) rbeland asked a question in a comment below. Specifically, what temp on the grill surface? Well, I did a test cooking tonight on my new super-duper Weber, which is a much “hotter” grill than my previous grill. I chose a surface temp of 450 which is what I estimated was the surface temp of my old grill. To get that stable temp on my Weber, the burners were at about 50%. The drummies were done in 32 minutes and were great. I now use a done temp of 185-190, and they are fall off the bone tender with great skin. I have updated the description to reflect their facts.

Another Update on grill temperature( October 10, 2014). 450 is the suggest surface temperature on the grill grates. NOT the temperature on that useless thermometer in the grill hood. You can get a $8 thermometer from Amazon, Lowes or Home Depot and it will save you many times the cost of meals you won’t ruin. Don’t blame me when you burn your drummies.

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.

Grilling Chicken Drumsticks from 101 Cooking for Two

Let rest for 10 minutes before serving. They are way too hot anyways.

Grilling Chicken Drumsticks- The Art of Drummies

Super easy, never fails, grilled drumsticks for the whole family. Just pat dry, spice and cook over medium-high heat. Then you will have crispy goodness for all.

CourseMain Course, Main dish
CuisineAmerican

Servings	Prep Time
6	10 minutes

Cook Time

30 minutes

Servings	Prep Time
6	10 minutes

Cook Time

30 minutes

Grilling Chicken Drumsticks- The Art of Drummies

Super easy, never fails, grilled drumsticks for the whole family. Just pat dry, spice and cook over medium-high heat. Then you will have crispy goodness for all.

CourseMain Course, Main dish
CuisineAmerican

Servings	Prep Time
6	10 minutes

Cook Time

30 minutes

Servings	Prep Time
6	10 minutes

Cook Time

30 minutes

Ingredients

6 Chicken drumsticks

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

Servings:

Units:

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 anyways.

Recipe Notes

A note on the seasoning: 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 from Craig in the comments:

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. Cool the drumsticks over the direct heat, but use the other side for any flair 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!

________________________________

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.

If you like this recipe or find it useful, the pleasure of a nice 4 or 5 rating would be greatly appreciated. Rating is done by clicking on the stars above.

Last Updated

April 6, 2017

Nutrition Facts

Grilling Chicken Drumsticks- The Art of Drummies

Amount Per Serving

Calories 161 Calories from Fat 81

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 9g 14%

Saturated Fat 3g 15%

Polyunsaturated Fat 0.003g

Monounsaturated Fat 0.003g

Cholesterol 80mg 27%

Sodium 557mg 23%

Potassium 3mg 0%

Total Carbohydrates 0.2g 0%

Dietary Fiber 0.1g 0%

Sugars 0.001g

Protein 19g 38%

Vitamin A 3%

Vitamin C 4%

Calcium 2%

Iron 6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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Super easy, never fails, grilled drumsticks for the whole family. Just pat dry, spice and cook over medium-high heat. Then you will have crispy goodness for all.