Perfectly Grilled Chicken Drumsticks are fast and easy with this never-fail recipe. Tender, flavorful, and budget-friendly, everybody from picky kids to grandma will love these crispy grilled drumsticks.
🐓Ingredients
Chicken Drumsticks (chicken legs)
Seasoning—salt, black pepper, and garlic powder mixture (All-Purpose Seasoning) OR
Optional seasoning of your choice
Jump To (scroll for more)
Featured Comment from Jan: "
The best...the best..... chicken legs...ever....goodbye Bobby Flay...hello Doctor Dan....it is going to be an excellent chicken leg summer....thank you!"
You only need the correct grill and final internal temperatures to cook perfect chicken drumsticks. With only 10 minutes of preparation and simple seasoning, it only takes 35 minutes on the grill.
This grilled chicken drumstick recipe is part of a group of recipes that started with my work on Chicken for a Crowd. For oven-based recipes, see Baked Chicken Legs or Oven Baked Chicken Thighs. And don't miss Grilled Chicken Thighs.
👨🍳How to Grill Chicken Drumsticks—Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
1. Clean, oil, and preheat the grill to a surface temperature of about 450°.
2. Prepare the chicken legs for grilling by trimming loose parts in the joint area and excess skin.
3. Pat dry with paper towels and season to your taste.
4. Place over direct heat with a closed lid.
5. Flip every 5 minutes until an internal temperature of 185°—about 30-35 minutes.
6. Remove from heat and rest for 5 minutes before serving.
For more details, keep reading. See the Recipe Card below for complete instructions and to print.
⏰How long to grill chicken drumsticks
It will take 35 to 30 minutes, assuming a medium-high grill surface temperature of 450°, to reach a final internal temperature of 185°+, which is best for chicken legs and thighs.
Variables are the drumstick's size, initial temperature, and exact grill temperature. You can use a lower surface temperature, but it will add time and tend to dry more. You can not get acceptable results with a grill temperature over 500°.
Always remember, you are cooking to a final internal temperature and never by time alone. You must use a thermometer to be sure you get to 185°+. Do not guess.
How to spice chicken drumsticks
Spice as you want. I use my All-Purpose Seasoning ·7:2:2), which combines kosher salt, pepper, and garlic powder. But other spice mixes may be used.
For BBQ chicken drumsticks, use a dry rub and brush with your favorite BBQ sauce the last 5 minutes to make great BBQ chicken drumsticks.
Chicken tips and options
Drumsticks and chicken legs are the same thing. But there are also chicken leg quarters with chicken legs and thighs attached. If you are doing leg quarters, please follow the Grilled Chicken Thighs recipe.
Just pat dry with paper towels, and do not rinse—which is unsafe. See Chicken... To Rinse or Not To Rinse? for more discussion.
Allowing the chicken legs to rest at room temperature for 15-30 minutes while setting up the grill will help get the final internal temperature without burning the skin.
Grill setup
You may use either a gas or charcoal grill, but you must get the grill surface temperature correct, which is easier on gas. The grill surface temperature is temp on the grill's surface where the food cooks, not in the grill's hood.
The surface temperature should be 450°-500°, which is medium to medium-high on most gas grills—see A Beginners Guide to Grill Temperature on a Gas Grill for more details.
For a charcoal grill, you must adjust the venting, not build the hottest fire, and have a reserved cooler area.
🌡️The best final internal temperature is 185°
The best final internal temperature for chicken legs (and thighs) is 185°. The FDA minimum safe internal temperature is 165°, but there is too much connective tissue in chicken legs and thighs. At 165°, they will be tough and stringy—just not done.
To get moist and tender meat, you need to melt the connective tissue, which starts at 170° but is mostly complete at 185°. But cooking up to 195° will still be okay and may be beneficial, according to American Test Kitchen (subscription required).
Suggested serving
Severe with other grilled side dishes like Grilled Corn on the Cob, Grilled French Fries, Grilled Stuffed Tomatoes, or Grilled Mixed Vegetables. Or picnic salads like potato salad, Caprese Pasta Salad, Broccoli Salad, or Broccoli Slaw Salad.
Storage and reheating leftovers
Store leftovers refrigerated in an airtight container for 4 days. You may freeze for 4 months, but there is poor skin texture, so it is not recommended.
To reheat leftovers, heat in a 325° oven or air fryer for 10-15 minutes.
❓FAQs
Closed will be best and give you more control. Generally, grilling something less than ½ inch thick can be open. Between ½ and 1 inch can be open but is better closed. Over 1 inch should always be closed.
No, you will burn the skin long before the meat is cooked. They must be fully thawed first.
It is not needed. The skin will be crispier without it, but with oil, it will be softer and feel thicker.
There are two common causes. First, if the chicken is older, the older meat may release some myoglobin, which can cause pinkness. The second reason is if the drumsticks have been frozen, the bone marrow can break down and come out into the meat. Neither is harmful and as long as the temperature is correct, it is safe to eat.
Food safety
Raw chicken and other poultry should be considered contaminated and handled with care. Wash your hands carefully before and after touching raw chicken.
We do NOT wash raw chicken routinely due to water splatter. See Chicken... To Rinse or Not To Rinse? for more information.
You must cook chicken to an internal temperature of 165° for safety, although for texture, cook to 185° for chicken legs and thighs. See the USDA for more information. You need to check this with an instant-read thermometer.
This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.
Have you tried this recipe, or have a question? Join the community discussion in the comments.
📖 Recipe
Grilled Chicken Drumsticks
Video Slideshow
Save this recipe to your inbox for later!
Get the recipe link via email to comeback later.
You may recieve the email without subscribing if you wish, but the subscription is convienent and has an easy one-ckick unsubscribe.
Ingredients
- 6 Chicken drumsticks
- Salt and pepper - to taste or seasoning of your choice
Instructions
- Preheat the 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 the grill grates.
- Pat dry the chicken legs (chicken drumsticks) with paper towels. Rest at room temperature for 15-30 minutes before grilling if you have the time.
- Trim off excess skin and loose bones/tissue, especially in the joint area.
- Season to taste. Kosher salt and pepper will be fine, or you can use my 7:2:2 spice mix. Or use the seasoning of your choice.
- Check grill surface temperature and place chicken legs on the grill. Close the grill hood. Flip about every 5 minutes until the internal temp of 185° degrees—about 30-35 minutes.
- Let rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips
- Pat dry and season to taste. I like my All Purpose Seasoning - 7:2:1 and 7:2:2. Seasoning mixes or dry rubs work well. A light touch of cayenne pepper adds a bit of heat that most adults like but do not use with kids.
- Medium grill with a surface temperature of about 450°. Over 500° will not work well. 400° minimum.
- The final internal temperature of 185°+ is the key to this recipe. While 165° is safe, the texture will be much better at 185°.
- If you are cooking chicken leg quarters, use the Grilled Chicken Thighs recipe to learn to control the fat flair-ups.
Your Own Private Notes
To 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 Estimate
© 101 Cooking for Two, LLC. All content and photographs are copyright protected by us or our vendors. While we appreciate your sharing our recipes, please realize copying, pasting, or duplicating full recipes to any social media, website, or electronic/printed media is strictly prohibited and a violation of our copyrights.
Editor's Note: Originally published June 26, 2011. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Brett Yonally says
It looks like you use direct heat? Your site looks interesting, I'll check the rest of it out.
Dan Mikesell says
Yes, direct heat.
Dan Mikesell says
Great... glad it worked for you. There is nothing like a good drummie
Kathy says
Just BBQ'd drumsticks for the first time EVER and, following your recipe (with one added seasoning), they turned out PERFECT! Everyone loved them and they were so juicy with a just-right crispy skin. YUM! Thank you for your grilling advice. SO glad that I clicked on your link. I was always afraid to buy drumsticks because I wasn't exactly sure what to with them. Now I do and I see many more drumsticks in the future. THANKS!
Brooke Beeler-Klein says
I am so indebted to you and this recipe. I am really new to grilling and need details like you mentioned! These were seriously some of the best chicken legs I have ever had. I was a little reserved on my heat (guessed, no surface thermometer), so they took forever and a day. Next time I will crank it up a wee bit more. But WOW. Thank you!
Dr Dan says
Closed. The only "open grill" cooking I have done so far is fajitas on a griddle.
Jon says
Thank you for tje clarification here.
eb8f5048-0030-11e2-852d-000f20980440 says
is your grill open or closed when cooking
Barb says
Perfect!!! 425 to 450 degrees on our Weber for 35 minutes did the trick. Brushed on BBQ sauce and flipped twice in the last 10 minutes of cooking. Legs were crispy, juicy and full of flavor. Thank you for all the great tips.
Dr Dan says
The 450 is the right surface temp. I also have been using 190 as the finish temp for a while. I have updated the post to reflect these changes. Thanks for the comments.
rbeland says
Great, thanks. Im making them now!
Dr Dan says
Good question. This is on my old grill and High on that would get to about 500. My new grill is 600 at times. If you are measuring, I would aim for 400 to 450. I need something for dinner tonight so I think I will try it and post an update.
rbeland says
Do you use a thermometer on the grilling surface for a temp reading? Med and high are somewhat vague and vary between grills.
rbeland says
Looks like a great recipe. Do you use a thermometer on the grilling surface to get a temp reading? Med and high are somewhat vague & vary between grills.
Jay Dub says
Just cooked the best ribs ever! I think beyond world class. Temp is everything and oh yeah an awesome rub!
DrDan says
Umm... maybe the rib recipe.
But thanks for the note.
DrDan
Dr Dan says
I have two. My naked corn is my almost daily recipe right now. There is also a Mark Bittman recipe. Both are in August 2010.
Jeffrey and Juli says
These look great! We use a charcoal grill, so getting our heat just right is a little harder. But looks like the results are well-worth it.
Do you have a recipe for the grilled ears of corn?
Thanks, as always! -Juli
Debbie Simmons says
I can tell you this much with corn if you mix a little bit of ranch dressing powder mix with melted butter and slather it on your corn while grilling gives a great taste to your corn
Dr Dan says
I though about putting it in caps. I try to keep my total ingredients down to a reasonable number.
Chris says
The dry skin before cooking is a critical tip that you gave. Very nice dry rub too. Effective without using 37.5 spices.