Grilled Buffalo Drumsticks {Easy Chicken Leg Recipe!}

The price of chicken wings has gone through the roof at my local grocery store and, as much as I love chicken wings, they are on hold until the price comes down!

If you are in the same situation as me then try out this great recipe for Grilled Buffalo Drumsticks!  These drumsticks are more meaty than Buffalo wings, just as tasty and only cost half as much as wings right now.

What is not to love about meaty, tasty chicken basted in Buffalo sauce?

Here is how to make them!

Prepare the Chicken Drumsticks for the Grill

There is not a lot of work required to get the chicken ready for the grill as all you need to do is brine and season the legs.

The brine is going to help make sure that the chicken stays juicy as it grills.  Sure, you can skip this step if you want but brining is so simple there is no reason not to do it.

Chicken Drumstick Brine

• 2 quarts water
• 1/4 cup salt
• 1/4 cup brown sugar

Combine the brine ingredients and mix well to dissolve.

Place the chicken drumsticks into the brine and allow them to soak in the refrigerator for four hours.

Remove the chicken from the brine, rinse under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels.

Make Lollipops

I wanted to make these legs a little special so I “Frenched” them to make chicken lollipops.

Making lollipops is pretty easy to do but hard to describe so I have included a link to a great instructional YouTube video in the “References” section of this post.

Chicken Drumstick Seasoning

We are going with a real simple dry rub for the seasoning.  The chicken is already pumped with salt and sugar from the brine and it is going to get a ton of flavor later from the Buffalo sauce.

To season the chicken combine the following ingredients and season the chicken well.

• 2 tbls salt
• 2 tbls black pepper
• 2 tbls chili powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp sugar

Grill the Drumsticks with Indirect High Heat

You can use either a gas or charcoal grill to cook the chicken but you want it set up fir indirect high heat.

• If you are using a three burner gas grill then set the two outside burners to High and leave the middle burner off.
• If you are using a charcoal grill then light a full chimney of charcoal and dump it onto one side of the charcoal grate.

You are aiming for a grill temperature of 375-425F but don’t sweat it if your temperature isn’t spot on.

Place the drumsticks onto the grill away from on the heat.  If you are using a gas grill then place the chicken over the middle burner that is turned off.  If you are using a charcoal grill then arrange the chicken around, but not over, the charcoal bed as shown below.

Close the lid and let the chicken grill for 40 minutes, turning the chicken once after 20 minutes.

Here are detailed instructions for grilling chicken drumsticks on a Weber gas grill.

Baste the Legs in Buffalo Sauce

Prepare the Buffalo sauce while the drumsticks are grilling.  There are several commercial sauces you can use if you don’t feel like making your own but here is what I like to use:

Buffalo Sauce Recipe

• 1 stick (8 tbls) melted butter
• 1/2 cup hot sauce (Franks or Cholula)
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp Siracha garlic chili sauce

Combine all ingredients and heat in the microwave for 30 seconds.

After the drumsticks have grilled for 40 minutes baste them with the Buffalo sauce, close the lid and let the wings finish cooking.

Monitor the internal temperature of the legs and let them cook on the grill until they reach an internal temperature of 185F.  This will take another 10-15 minutes of grilling for a total cook time of about one hour.

Remove the Buffalo drumsticks from the grill, give them a few minutes to cool down and dig in!

References

https://youtu.be/iu9Iz9KBbOE

https://www.extraordinarybbq.com/grilled-buffalo-drumsticks-on-a-pellet-grill/

https://www.franksredhot.com/en-us/recipes/franks-redhot-original-buffalo-chicken-wings