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November 13, 2015 By Brandy 3 Comments

Home » Recipes » Appetizer Recipes

5 Steps to Perfectly Grilled Chicken Legs

Filed Under: Appetizer Recipes, Main Dish Recipes, Recipes

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5 Steps to Perfectly Grilled Chicken Legs
Intimidated by grilling with charcoal? Don’t be! Here’s how to make perfectly grilled chicken legs in 5 steps!

5 Steps to Perfectly Grilled Chicken Legs
Last month I posted a photo on Facebook of a plate of chicken legs that my husband had grilled up for us. I was surprised with many comments and likes it received. I even received requests for his recipe and technique. Honestly, I had no idea what to tell them because I don’t grill. Ever.

5 Steps to Perfectly Grilled Chicken Legs
My husband makes the best food so I don’t even try to compete. Last week I followed him outside with my camera to document the 5 step process! Now that we’re living in California again the weather is mild pretty much all year long. This means that we can grill all year long. If you are heading to a tail gate party this fall you’ll definitely want to make a BIG batch of chicken legs to take with you. No utensils necessary, but you’ll definitely want a napkin! These are nice and juicy.

5 Steps to Perfectly Grilled Chicken Legs

5 Steps to Perfectly Grilled Chicken Legs
 

Ingredients:

Chicken Legs

Marinade OR BBQ Sauce

When we marinate we pretty much stick with soy sauce because it only takes 20 minutes to soak in. When using BBQ sauce, there is no need to marinate the chicken. That’s the technique we are demonstrating today.

Setting up the grill: We are utilizing indirect heating for the most part so only place your charcoal briquettes on one side of the grill.

Step 1: Sear Chicken

5 Steps to Perfectly Grilled Chicken Legs
Sear chicken over hot coals for 1-2 minutes on each side. This is the only step that uses direct heat. The rest will utilize indirect heat (away from the coals).

Step 2: Cook Indirectly

5 Steps to Perfectly Grilled Chicken Legs
As you’ll see in the photo above, the chicken legs on the bottom are being seared directly over the coals. The ones in the center of the grill are waiting for their turn to be seared, and the ones on the top have been seared and moved to the other side of the grill. There is still plenty of heat over there for them to cook indirectly.

I’m sure we’ve all had chicken that is charred on the outside and undercooked on the inside. Learning how to cook indirectly prevents this from happening (remember, I don’t grill. So these tips are all from my husband).

Step 3: Smoke

5 Steps to Perfectly Grilled Chicken Legs
If you’d like your chicken to have a smokey flavor, add a handful of hickory chips over the coals.

5 Steps to Perfectly Grilled Chicken Legs
Cover the grill and let smolder in the smoke. This is what the legs will look like after about 10 minutes. They look done, but they are most definitely NOT done yet.

Step 4: Grill

5 Steps to Perfectly Grilled Chicken Legs
Keep the lid on and continue to grill for about an hour or until internal temp reaches 165 degrees. Don’t worry about turning the legs or moving them away from the heat. They are already away from the coals so they won’t burn.

Step 5: Brush with Sauce

5 Steps to Perfectly Grilled Chicken Legs
Brush chicken legs with your favorite BBQ sauce. We like the bold flavor from Stubbs BBQ sauce. My husband never adds the sauce until the end. Since it is made from sugar, it will just scorch if added too soon. Brush on one side of chicken, cover, and caramelize for a few minutes.

5 Steps to Perfectly Grilled Chicken Legs
Flip chicken over, brush the other side and let caramelize for a few minutes.

 

5 Steps to Perfectly Grilled Chicken Legs
That’s a prefect piece of chicken!

5 Steps to Perfectly Grilled Chicken Legs
Now grab a bag of chips, your favorite dip, some baked beans, and veggies and you’ll have the perfect meal for a fall grill-out or tailgate party!

5 Steps to Perfectly Grilled Chicken Legs
 

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About Brandy

Welcome! I'm Brandy, mother to 5 darling kiddos and a cute black lab named Toby. My husband is in the Coast Guard so we've lived all over the place, turning each house into a home. I love baking, sewing, making cute things with my kids, and sharing what I've learned with all of you!

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Comments

  1. JanetGoingCrazy says

    November 13, 2015 at 7:52 pm

    These look amazing! Thank you for the techniques. My husband is from the North, but we live in the South now so he is always looking to learn more about the technique of charcoal grilling. [client]

    Reply
  2. William says

    July 5, 2016 at 12:02 am

    These look delicious. Im gonna need to get some stubbs next time im out and about.

    Reply
  3. Barbecue cook says

    August 28, 2018 at 7:05 am

    I love the way the skin on the chicken preserves the taste inside and keep it tender as well. great recipe!

    Reply

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About the Author

Welcome! I'm Brandy, mother to 5 darling kiddos and a cute black lab named Toby. My husband is in the Coast Guard so we've lived all over the place, turning each house into a home. I love baking, sewing, making cute things with my kids, and sharing what I've learned with all of you! Learn More About The Author

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I don’t think this will ever get old. I think th I don’t think this will ever get old. I think the cream eggs from our leghorn mixes are my favorite! #nelsonsbackyardchickens
I don’t decorate for Valentine’s Day (still re I don’t decorate for Valentine’s Day (still recovering from Christmas 😂), but I always have holiday candy on hand! This year I filled the jar with petite sour hearts after hearing how amazing they are from @triedandtruemoms. They were right, we are all fans over here! Maybe more places will stock them now that they are in such demand. I ordered mine from @candynationusa (don’t waste your time looking on Amazon. They are charging twice as much for less candy).
These are the real deal, and are easy to make usin These are the real deal, and are easy to make using a cake mix and marshmallow fluff! We may have made them two days in a row after giving quite a few away to friends. 🙌🏻 Recipe is on the blog!
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Actually, there’s always something to see. These birds are hilarious. #nelsonsbackyardchickens #step2 @thestep2company
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Tip: when buying produce, buy extra to freeze. I buy an extra pineapple, an extra package of grapes, an extra bunch of bananas and an extra bag of spinach and freeze them for smoothies. I slice everything up and freeze it on baking sheets then bag it up. It makes it easy to grab a handful to toss into a blender. You can freeze entire bags of spinach too and add a handful to smoothies. I always blend my spinach and water first then add the rest of the fruit. No little spinach chunks in the smoothie that way. 🙌🏻 
#greensmoothie
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