These grilled chicken drumsticks are smokey, sweet, and delicious to eat!
Packed with a little spice and covered in BBQ sauce these drumsticks are perfect right off the grill!
Chicken breasts and chicken wings taste so good on the grill. These grilled chicken drumsticks taste just as delicious, especially since they are smothered in a rich and bold chili garlic bbq sauce. This is the same sauce I used on my ribs; it’s spicy and sweet all at the same time. It is a versatile sauce that works well with pork, steak, and chicken.
These grilled chicken drumsticks are so finger-licking, lip-smacking good. Keep the wet wipes handy, this recipe is a keeper!
About Grilled Chicken Drumsticks
This recipe is super simple and easy to follow along with making it perfect for anyone to make. The steps are minimal and so is the effort needed. You’re going to love these charred and smothered legs because they are so tender and flavorful in every juicy bite!
Serve these grilled chicken legs any day of the week and they’re always sure to be a huge hit.
Ingredients you’ll need for Chicken Drumsticks:
- Chicken drumsticks
- Salt
- Pepper
- Olive oil
- Shallot
- Garlic
- Ketchup
- Sambal Oelek
- Brown sugar
- Apple cider vinegar
- Honey
- Worcestershire sauce
For the exact quantities needed, please see the recipe card below.
How To Make Spicy Grilled Chicken Drumsticks
- Spray the grates of an outdoor grill with non-stick spray. Preheat the grill to medium heat.
- Simply coat your drumsticks with salt and pepper and place them on a preheated grill (don’t forget to coat the grill with cooking spray) for about 20 minutes.
- You will want to turn your drumsticks a time or two. Those grill marks keep you in check and update you on the cooking process.
- After about 20 minutes, baste your drumsticks with the bbq sauce. Be sure to lay it on nice and thick; be generous. You want the heat from the grill to sear in the flavor and get the bbq sauce to fully adhere to those drumsticks.
- Turn your chicken and baste the second side. Each side will take about 5 minutes to cook with the sauce. Serve with additional sauce.
Recipe Notes
- Leftover Sauce. This sauce recipe will make a pretty good sized portion and you will only need about 1/2 cup of it so feel free to store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge to use with other meats in the next few days. This sauce is good for up to a week which should be plenty of time to find more uses for it like pork, beef, or more chicken. Yum!
- Leftover Chicken. Keep your leftover grilled chicken legs stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Make sure to reheat the chicken legs before eating.
- Spiciness. If desired you can adjust the spiciness of this sauce by cutting back on the Sambal Oelek used in this recipe. You can even omit it entirely and just add in a little bit of red pepper flakes instead.
FAQs
How Long Do You Cook Drumsticks On The Grill?
It takes about 30 minutes to cook chicken legs on the grill but you should make sure to rotate the legs every so often (about every 10 minutes) so that all of the meat has enough contact with the heat source. This will help the legs to cook more evenly.
How Do You Know When Chicken Drumsticks Are Done?
You’ll know that your chicken legs are finished cooking when they have reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees F with an instant-read thermometer. You can also pierce the chicken meat and see that the juices are running clear instead of pink, this is a great visual indicator for the meat is done.
Can I Make Spicy Grilled Chicken Legs In the Oven?
You can make these chicken legs in the oven by preheating the oven to 375 degrees F. Prepare the chicken legs as directed and then bake on a large greased baking sheet for about 40 minutes, remove from the oven and baste with a layer of sauce before returning to the oven for another 10-15 minutes or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
If you love grilled recipes then you are going to love these other great dishes:
Spicy Grilled Chicken Drumsticks
Simple grilled chicken drumsticks coated in a spicy bbq sauce!
Ingredients
- 3 lbs chicken drumsticks
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 small shallot, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1/4 cup Sambal Oelek
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoon cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
- Spray the grates of an outdoor grill with non-stick spray. Preheat the grill to medium heat.
- Sprinkle salt and pepper over drumsticks. Place chicken on grill and heat for 20 minutes, turning once. Baste chicken with sauce and continue to grill for 5 minutes. Turn chicken over and baste second side. Grill an additional 5 minutes. Serve with additional sauce.
Notes
- The recipe for the sauce makes quite a bit. You only need about 1/2 cup for this recipe.
- Kroger brand ingredients were used to to make this recipe
Nutrition Information
Yield
6Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 538Total Fat 21gSaturated Fat 6gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 13gCholesterol 288mgSodium 1156mgCarbohydrates 30gFiber 1gSugar 25gProtein 55g
heather @french press says
I’ll take these drumsticks over fried chicken any day of the week! finger lickin’ good
Brian J says
YUM, I really enjoy chicken drummers and wings and enjoy them in either a dry rub or a stiyk sauce. I’ll be trying these. Thanks for sharing
Evija says
This chicken looks amazing. Thank you Tanya for sharing with OMHG Wordless Wednesday linky, cannot wait to try it!! Have a great weekend!! co-host Evija from @Fromevijawithlove xx
Theresa @DearCreatives says
Oh, yum! They love drumsticks but, I might have to do a chicken breast for me. We BBQ all the time. Pinned & shared. Thanks for joining in the Inspiration Spotlight party. Hope to see you again soon.
plasterers bristol says
Hmm sounds nice. Will be giving this a go over the weekend. Thanks.
Simon
William says
These look awesome. Im gonna give them a go at my next cook out. Shared!
BBQ Focus says
Love grilled chicken. Looking forward to giving this a try. Thank you!
Brown Smith says
Made these yesterday to marinate them overnight and they turned out awesomely.
I changed the bacon to pancetta and used a sweet/chipolte spiced bbq with whisky (was out of bourbon), the skewers went on the BBQ and turned out to a tender, sweet, salty, spicy goodyness.
These will a regular on my BBQ party’s. Thankx!
Lemonsforlulu says
Love the idea of pancetta and of course the whisky! Glad you enjoyed the recipe!!
Jane says
This looks great with recipes. I will try this out for my husband and children. They must love it!
Tanya Schroeder says
I hope you do!
Mzuri says
Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe
BCA says
Thanks for sharing this actually i have a friends party at my place and i was confused. But now i am not confused i will follow your recipe. and party will buuummm…..
Nancy Spancer says
I love spicy food and i recently tried your recipe. The chicken was so delicious. A great share.
Tanya Schroeder says
Yay! Thanks for trying the recipe!
Aarah animes says
it’s was just yummy but i made it a little bit spicy. it was my first attempt.
Aarah animes says
just love to cook for my caring husband. thanks for sharing.
Jam says
Hello,
I am Jam, love spicy food and i recently tried your recipe and i also want to tell you the best way to cook BarBQ inside the home without any smoke of coils and you will make it during raining. I am telling you about best electric smoker which helps you to cook good BarBQ. I love to tell you about Best Electric Smoker 2021.
tabi says
definitely gonna try it with best electric smoker
ruby says
can I make it with beef best electric smoker
james brown says
Thank you so much for this amazing recipe
Pakistan Hub says
Thanks for sharing the very nice article and the matching of Images with the content is great really enjoyed it.
Gary Kaufman says
This recipe is superb by taste and I am loving it.
Tanya Schroeder says
I’m so glad Gary! Thank you for trying the recipe!