These grilled drumsticks are an easy, inexpensive, and healthy chicken recipe that uses the best chicken drumsticks marinade for grilling. Made with Mediterranean spices, olive oil, and lots of lemon juice, the flavorful marinade is easy to prepare and can be grilled up in just a few minutes.
Marinating chicken before grilling leaves them super moist and juicy, you will never skip this step again. Plus, you can marinate them the day before which makes your barbecue prep even easier.
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Best Chicken Drumsticks Marinade for Grilling
My kids absolutely love to eat chicken drumsticks. Plus, they are inexpensive and an easy way to serve and eat a healthy meal. But, you can use this marinade for any cut of chicken cut for this recipe. You can even use this for baked chicken recipes, too. I just prefer that char flavor from the grill, and the clean up is so easy!
For a main course, plan on serving about 2 drumsticks per person. For a summer barbecue, these are great with Roasted Red Potatoes, Berry Salad, Cucumber Tomato Side Salad, or Guacamole with chips. As an appetizer, serve with Tzatziki sauce or our Homemade Ranch.
Key Ingredients
- Lemon juice- helps tenderize the chicken as well as adds a really fresh flavor.
- Lemon zest- this will give your drumstick recipe a little zip.
- Olive oil- you could also use Avocado oil.
- Vinegar- this will help tenderize the chicken while it's marinating.
- Mediterranean Spices- basil, oregano, parsley, onion powder, and sage.
- Salt and Pepper- to taste.
How to Make the Best Grilled Drumsticks
You can marinate the chicken for 2-24 hours before grilling, so plan ahead and preheat your grill at least 30 minutes before you want to serve.
- Make the marinade. In a freezer bag, add the lemon juice, lemon zest, olive oil, vinegar, basil, oregano, parsley, onion powder, sage, salt, and pepper. Mix all the ingredients together.
- Marinate the chicken legs. Add the drumsticks, seal the bag, shake to fully coat, then marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours.
- Grill the chicken. Remove from the marinade and place onto a hot grill. Cook for about 2-4 minutes or until golden brown, then flip and continue to cook until all sides are golden and the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F.
- Serve. Remove form the grill, cover with foil, and let them rest for about 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Grilled Drumstick Recipe Tips
- Use a ziplock bag to keep the marinade mess to a minimum.
- This recipe can easily be doubled.
- This recipe calls for fresh herbs but sometimes I won't have all the fresh herbs in stock. You can use dried herbs too. If you're using dried herbs, try putting them in the palm of your hand and rubbing them together. This will break up the herbs a little more and it will release a little more of the oils from the herbs.
- If you're using fresh herbs...hooray!It really does make it so much more delicious!
- To keep your drumsticks moist, tender, and juicy, be sure to use a digital meat thermometer when cooking drumsticks. If you wait for the meat to visible start to pull away from the bone, your drumsticks are overcooked.
Mediterranean Grilled Chicken Drumsticks Recipe
Ingredients
- 8-12 large Drumsticks
- ยผ cup Lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Lemon zest
- 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 Tablespoons Vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Basil fresh if possible
- 1 teaspoon Oregano fresh if possible
- 1 teaspoon Parsely fresh if possible
- 1 teaspoon Onions Powder
- ยฝ teaspoon Sage ground
- pinch Salt to taste
- pinch Pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a gallon sized Ziplock bag, add the lemon juice, lemon zest, olive oil, vinegar, basil, Oregano, Parsley, Onion Powder, Sage, salt and pepper. Mix all the ingredients together.
- Add the chicken drumsticks. Seal the bag and then roll the bag around so all the drumsticks are coated in the Mediterranean Chicken Marinade.
- Let the chicken marinate for 2-24 hours.
- Lay the chicken drumsticks on a hot grill. Cook on med heat until the internal temp of the chicken is 165 degrees.
- Take the drumsticks off the grill, cover with foil, and let them sit for 5 minutes. Enjoy!
Nutrition
More of the Best Grilled Chicken Recipes
- Honey Mustard Grilled Chicken Recipe
- Grilled Teriyaki Chicken Recipe
- Garlic and Herb Grilled Chicken Drumsticks
- Rosemary Garlic Chicken Breast
- Buffalo Chicken Drumsticks
- Lemon Rosemary Chicken Kabobs
- Southwest Chicken Kabobs
- 3 Citrus Grilled Chicken Marinade
- BBQ Grilled Chicken Salad Recipe
- Cilantro Lime Chicken
- More Healthy Chicken Recipes
- More Easy Summer Recipes
This recipe includes chicken drumsticks marinade for grilling that truly makes them the most juicy and flavorful drumsticks you will ever eat. The marinade is full of Mediterranean flavors like lemon juice, olive oil, and fresh herbs.
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