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This is the easiest Grilled Drumsticks Recipe! When you’re ready to cookout, toss the marinade in a bag the night before and let the chicken soak it all in. Then just toss on the grill until golden!
A grilled drumstick recipe the whole family will love!
I don’t know about you, but in the summertime, we grill on Sundays… Actually, most days.
And If I can find a flavor that’s acceptable for my toddler, husband, and myself, I’m sticking to it.
Typically, I’m not a fan of dark meat, team white meat all the way! But it seems that I might be outnumbered at home. So I make the acceptation when it comes to drumsticks. Once you toss them in a soy, vinegar, seasoning salt marinade and let them hang out for a couple of hours, the spices get all the way into the chicken and all of a sudden, I don’t even mind a piece of chicken that I otherwise wouldn’t have touched.
You can certainly make grilled chicken thighs, I suggest the bone-in variety so that cook up in the same amount of time as the drumsticks. You can also bbq these on a charcoal grill – that would undoubtedly gives these an even better flavor.
And what you’re left with is crispy skin, tender and juicy meat. And the best part is, you just have to toss everything in a bag and let it hang out in the fridge until you’re ready to grill!
That’s my kind of summer cookin’!
Ingredients for easy grilled drumsticks
- Chicken Drumsticks: I get drumsticks with chicken skin in tact. This helps keep the moisture when you grill them.
- Avocado Oil: or other high heat oil that won’t burn on the grill.
- Soy Sauce: Low sodium works best for this recipe since we’re also using a seasoning salt.
- Red Wine Vinegar: tenderizes the chicken.
- Brown Sugar: just a couple tablespoons to balance out the salty ingredients and to give these a little color when they hit the grill.
- Garlic: I use fresh minced garlic.
- Dried Spices and Seasonings: I use a good seasoning salt to give this plenty of flavor. Something that have garlic powder, black pepper, onion powder, and some herbs. I also add some dried oregano and smoked paprika. You can swap the paprika for chili powder or even cayenne if you want these to have some heat!
Side suggestions for when you Grill Chicken Drumsticks
Other Grilled Chicken Recipes to try:
- Best Peruvian Chicken
- Simple Asian Grilled Chicken
- Garlic Parmesan Chicken Skewers
- Authentic Shish Tawook
- Greek Grilled Chicken
Easy Grilled Drumsticks
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- 3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon seasoning salt such as Lowry’s
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 ½-3 pounds bone-in skin-on drumsticks or thighs
Instructions
- MARINADE: in a bowl, combine the oil, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, garlic, seasoning salt, oregano, and paprika.
- PAT: the drumsticks dry using paper towels. Then add them to a gallon-sized zip-top bag.
- COMBINE: Pour the prepared marinade over the drumsticks, remove the air from the bag and zip or lock. Squish the bag around to equally marinate the drumsticks. Place the bag on a plate and refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours and up to 12 hours before grilling.
- GRILL: Preheat the grill to 425ºF. Clean the grill grates thoroughly. Brush or spray the grates with cooking spray.
- SEAR: Remove the chicken from the marinade and place pieces on the preheated grill. Cook for 18-22 minutes searing all sides on the hot side of the grill, and then moving it to the cooler side to cook it through without charring any further. Flip to brown evenly all over.
- SERVE: You want the chicken to hit 170ºF internal temperature on a meat thermometer. Once it hits that number, remove to a plate and allow the chicken to cool for a couple minute before serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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