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 thighs tutorial!
If you have a food smoker, try these smoked chicken wings, too!
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
What To Serve With Chicken
Chicken legs are a great protein that is delicious and easy to eat. You can serve them as a meal or with a meal.
There are a million possibilities when it comes to sides to serve with chicken.
From Roasted Red Potatoes to Garlic & Thyme Roasted Carrots. Steamed broccoli, or even chop the chicken up and serve as a chicken salad slathered with ranch dressing!
One of our favorite lunches to make are these Sriracha Chicken Wraps. They’re just easy and delish!
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Budget-Friendly Meat
Chicken thighs are also one of the most budget friendly meats available at the grocery store.
You can grab a whole pack of chicken for pennies on the dollar compared to steak.
And it’s just as versatile, if no more versatile than red meat.
How to Grill Chicken Thighs
Grilling chicken thighs is quite easy, so don’t be intimidated. Here’s everything you need to know about grilling thighs!
Whether you’re cooking thighs or drumsticks, this method is the best way to cook them on the grill.
Ingredients
- Chicken Legs; thighs
- 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.
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.
Tip: Grill with lid closed. If you’re lookin’ you ain’t cookin’!
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 to 185 degrees F.
165 degrees F. is great for chicken breast meat.
We love this BBQ Sauce, since it has enough sugar in it to produce the perfect char!
Also See: How To Grill Steak Tips
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How To Grill Chicken Legs
Equipment
- BBQ Grill
Ingredients
- Chicken Thighs
- 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 thighs skin side up on the grill for 5 minutes.
- Flip and continue grilling and flipping every 5 minutes for about 30 to 35 minutes or until the 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.
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Hi Elizabeth! Grill with the lid down. I follow the old adage “if you’re lookin’ you ain’t cookin'” 🙂
Do you grill with the lid up or down? Flipping chicken every 5 mins.
Way to go Randy! Glad to hear the chicken came out great! 💪
Thanks for the excellent advice and easy breezy instructions. I felt like a pro when everyone rolled up sleeves, belied up, and dug in.
Hey Keith, great question! For charcoal, cook over direct heat, but set up for indirect as well. That way you can move things around if you get flareups and use the indirect side for smaller pieces that might cook faster. Hope that helps!
If using charcoal do you cook direct or indirect?
Excellent! I’m glad you enjoyed this method of cooking chicken legs and drumsticks!
I tried this recipe this afternoon. It’s GREAT. It took all the guess work out of cooking chicken thighs. Mine were perfect. Even the bbq sauce came out great.