I know it’s been a while since I posted a recipe and I have no good excuses really. I’ve just been enjoying the weather and time with my family busy doing other stuff, that I haven’t taken any pictures for recipes. But, I do promise to make it up to you guys in the next couple weeks. I have a bunch of summer recipes lined up that are perfect for grilling season and large family gatherings (especially for a 4th of July party) like this one right here…
I love me some grilled chicken and this recipe is a perfect example of how you can get creative while grilling/barecuing instead of making the plain ol’ burgers and hot dogs (not that they aren’t good).
Chicken drumsticks are the perfect BBQ food to serve at a gathering. Simply marinate them the night before, and cook them on the grill. They’re a no-fuss finger food that will have your family/guests licking their fingers. The possibilities for marinades and flavors for chicken on the grill are endless.
This beer marinated chicken with spices and lime in the marinade keeps the chicken drumsticks so juicy and tender all through the grilling that it’s hard to mess them up. They are not very spicy and have a barely there hint of beer flavor that makes it down to the bone. They are absolutely delicious! Here’s the super easy recipe-
- 8-10 chicken drumsticks
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 tsp onion salt
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp cayenne
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 3-4 cloves of garlic
- Juice of half a lime
- 1 cup beer
- handful of chopped fresh parsley
- Salt to taste
- – Rinse and pat dry your chicken drumsticks and toss them into a zip lock bag.
- – Mix together all the remaining ingredients together to make a marinade. Starting with the olive oil, onion salt (or you can use finely diced fresh onion), paprika (I used sweet hungarian paprika), ground cumin, 1/4 of a teaspoon of cayenne powder (or more if you like a little more heat like I do, its fairly mild with just 1/4 tsp) and ground black pepper.
- – Then grate the fresh garlic cloves and squeeze in the juice of half a lime.
- – Pour in the beer.
- – Give the marinade mixture a good stir to mix it all together and taste it. Then add some salt according to your taste but don’t be skimpy. (You want the marinade to be a bit salty, cos you’re adding it to a lot of chicken and you’re taking the chicken out of the marinade before you grill it.)
- – Lastly toss in a handful of chopped fresh parsley and mix it in.
- – Pour the marinade into the zip lock bag with the chicken. Seal it and massage the marinade into all the pieces of chicken. Let the chicken marinate for atleast a couple of hours in the fridge, overnight would be best to let the chicken absorb all the flavors. (I tend to flip the bag over every couple hours to make sure the both sides of the chicken get to sit in the juices to marinate more evenly.)
- – Once the chicken has marinated simply throw them on the grill (make sure to oil the grill so the chicken doesn’t stick) for 25-30 minutes turning over the pieces & basting it with the marinade every 7-8 minutes until the internal temperature is above 170F. Another way to check if the legs are done if you don’t have a meat thermometer, is to pierce a leg with a sharp knife down to the bone and if the juices run clear, it’s done…if it’s pink/ red then you’ll need to cook the chicken more.
- – Serve them up hot and garnished with some presh parsely and a squeeze of lime. Don’t forget to serve some chilled beer with these finger licking good chicken drumsticks!
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i live in an apartment in the second floor so no grilling is allowed up here, i would have to grill in front of my neighbors yard in the first floor, which is an inconvinient for me, is there anyway i can do these in the oven?
Hi Brici, you can definitely cook these in the oven. Just pop them in a baking dish at 400F-425F for about 35-40 minutes turning it over halfway through the cooking process. You can finish it off under the broiler on hi for few minutes to get that grilled flavor too if you want.
Could I fry it ?
I’d be careful of oil splatter cos it’s a watery marinade, but I don’t see why not. 🙂
I have a cast iron grill that you place on top of stove for indoor grilling. You can probably get one at most stores for about $20-$30.
How would the use of cilantro be instead of parsley?
I love cilantro and with the flavors of chilli and lime it would definitely be a great substitute.
I use cilantro!
You made this chicken look so good. I featured it on my Friday Five – grilling over @ Feed Your Soul Too – http://www.feedyoursoul2.com/2013/06/friday-five-grilling.html
Tried this marinade for our 4th of July dinner. It was marvelous. Family kept asking what I did to the chicken. They’re asking for it again, so I’m off to buy more chicken. Thank you so much for sharing!
Would this marinade recipe work for grilled chicken cutlets as well (instead of wings)?
Yes! Any cut of chicken works well.
This looks wonderful. My concern is using the marinade to baste the chicken during cooking. Did you make up fresh marinade?
I used the same marinade Beverly, it does get cooked over a lot of heat.
Would you be able to use a crockpot to cook these?
I suppose you could, although I don’t think you’d get the grilled flavor as they’d more steam.
Good stuff !!
I loooove trying new recipes but if I wanted to make a meal out of this, what side would you recommend?
Hi Myra! I personally think the chicken goes great with these salad sides- Sweet & Creamy Macaroni Salad or Apple ‘n Cabbage Slaw With A Light Cider or Vinaigrette. Any of the usual BBQ sides too should go well with this. 🙂
I had a very hard and not sucessful time making this recipe, maybe someone can help. I did the recipe as directed but used legs and thighs. Did the overnight marinade. I used a gas grill, preheated it and turned the heat to medium. That’s where the problems started. Each and every piece as I laid them on greased grill, started to burn and smoke right away. I would say they were on the grill for a minute and fire, fire, fire! I couldn’t get the chicken off fast enough with out burning my fingers and hair. What went wrong. I’m thinking the oil and heat flair up? Help?
I just made this recipe yesterday. Except I used a regular light beer. It was really good!! I may try bud light lime with cilantro. Thanks!
Hi, I love to cook more than anything, but sometimes I’m running out of ideas,
but when I saw your recipe I was happy , because you give us pictures and step by step method ,
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, JUST KEEP WRITING
All your recipes looks delicious I plan on trying some of them. Thanks for sharing.