So you picked up a pack of chicken legs to grill; drumsticks and thighs and you want to cook them on the barbecue. What temperature do you grill your chicken legs to?

How high should you set your grill? How do you get a nice char? All these questions and more will be answered in this quick and easy, no crazy recipe, how to grill chicken legs tutorial!

Last week I grabbed a pack of chicken legs at the grocery store that had thighs and drumsticks in it.

The next obvious question is, how do you cook them on the BBQ grill? You’re in luck, I’m here to show you!

Also See: How To Grill Beer Can Chicken

How to Grill Chicken Legs Thighs and Drumsticks

Ingredients

• Chicken Legs; thighs and drumsticks
• Salt
• Pepper
• BBQ Sauce »

Directions

Preheat grill to medium-high 400 degrees F.

Trim any chunky fat off the thighs if you wish

Pat chicken dry with paper towel

Oil grill grates

Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper

Place legs (skin side up for thighs) on grill for 5 minutes.

Turn and continue grilling and turning every 5 minutes for about 30 to 35 minutes or until chicken has reached an internal temperature of 185 degrees F.

To get a char, apply your favorite BBQ sauce at the 20-25 minute mark, flip and apply more as you wish.

Tip: Grill with lid closed. If you’re lookin’ you ain’t cookin’!

We love this BBQ Sauce, since it has enough sugar in it to produce the perfect char!

Also See: How To Grill Steak Tips

So 185 degrees is the magic number for grilling chicken legs; use a thermometer to get this internal temp correct. The chicken leg meat will fall off the bone and be juiciest at this temperature.

Turn the chicken legs every 5 minutes or so to prevent burning the skin and assure you’re cooking the chicken legs evenly.

You’ll want to apply the BBQ sauce early enough that you can apply more to the other side after flipping, and get a nice char all around.

Although 165 is a safe internal temperature for chicken, if you want it to fall off the bone and the fat to render better for the juiciest chicken, cook thighs and drumsticks to 185 degrees F.

165 degrees F. is great for chicken breast meat.

Happy grilling!

Print Recipe

5 from 2 votes

How To Grill Chicken Legs

Prep Time5 mins

Cook Time35 mins

Total Time40 mins

Course: Main

Author: Scrappy Geek

Ingredients

• Chicken Legs - thighs and drumsticks
• Salt
• Pepper
• BBQ Sauce

Instructions

• Preheat grill to medium-high 400 degrees F.
• Trim any chunky fat off the thighs if you wish
• Pat chicken dry with paper towel
• Oil the grill grates
• Sprinkle salt and pepper on chicken
• Place legs (skin side up for thighs) on grill for 5 minutes.
• Turn and continue grilling and turning every 5 minutes for about 30 to 35 minutes or until chicken has reached an internal temperature of 185 degrees F.
• To get a char, apply your favorite BBQ sauce at the 20-25 minute mark, flip and apply more as you wish.