How to Grill Chicken Drumsticks on an Electric Grill

Chicken is one of the best lean meats, and you can cook it as a whole or its specific parts such as the breast, wing, thigh, or drumstick. The drumstick is a popular chicken cut because it is easy to cook, meaty, and cheap.

Can you cook chicken drumsticks on an indoor electric grill? Yes, you can cook chicken drumsticks on an indoor grill. Most people who have never tried cooking drumsticks on an electric grill might find it a bit skeptical because of the bone on one side and the meaty part on the other side. You might think that it won’t cook evenly. However, it’s not the case.

This post is the ultimate guide on how to cook drumsticks on an electric grill.

How do you Prepare Chicken Drumsticks for Grilling 

Once you have selected fresh and quality drumsticks, you need to prepare them for grilling. Among the critical steps include thawing and seasoning/ marinating. 

Thaw/defrost your drumsticks 

If you have your chicken drumsticks stored in a freezer, you should defrost/ thaw them until they attain room temperature. One way to defrost drumsticks is by removing them from the freezer at least 24 hours prior to cooking. Then put them in a fridge to defrost gradually.

Another technique of thawing frozen chicken drumsticks is putting them in a sealable plastic bag and submerging them in cold water until they attain room temperature. This process takes about 30 minutes. 

Note: chicken should be cooked immediately or within 2 hours after attaining room temperature. Once it surpasses the above timeframe, it gets into a danger zone where dangerous bacteria start to multiply quickly.  

Season/marinate the drumsticks

While preparing your drumsticks before grilling, the second thing you should do is seasoning or marinating them. It depends on your preference. The aim is to enhance the flavor and taste of the drumsticks. 

How long do you have to marinate your drumsticks? About a 30 minutes period is enough. However, other people marinate theirs overnight. 

Note: it is essential to wash your chicken drumsticks before you marinate them. 

The other method is simply by seasoning the drumsticks with your favorite dry rub and olive oil. 

Check out our guide on how long you should marinate chicken before grilling. 

Precook your drumsticks (optional) 

Before grilling, you can opt to boil or precook your drumsticks in an oven. However, it’s optional, and it’s effective to precook drumsticks if you want to minimize the cooking time on an electric grill. 

How to Cook Drumsticks on an Electric Grill

Once your chicken drumsticks are ready, you should place them on the grill. However, there are a few things you have to do.

Preheat the electric grill 

First, preheat your indoor electric grill to about 400 degrees for about 5 to 10 minutes before you start cooking.

It prevents your chicken from sticking to the cooking surface. Additionally, a well-preheated grill forms excellent grill marks pretty easily. 

You should also consider spraying or brushing your electric grill’s cooking surface with a layer of cooking oil. 

Place your drumsticks on an electric grill for cooking 

Then you can place the drumsticks on a grill for cooking. It’s worth noting that grilling your drumsticks as raw will take longer than those precooked.

The total cook time for raw drumsticks on an electric grill is about 30 to 35 minutes. However, you should frequently turn them after every five minutes to enhance even cooking. 

Check the internal temperature

It’s also essential you utilize a meat thermometer during cooking to monitor the internal temperature of the drumsticks. You attain an internal temperature of about 165 to 185 degrees F before removing the drumsticks from the grill. 

Remove drumsticks from the grill  

Once your chicken drumsticks are cooked, you should remove them from the grill. However, don’t serve immediately. Let them sit for about 5 minutes before serving. Also, you can brush the drumsticks with your favorite sauce. 

FAQs 

What temperature should you grill chicken drumsticks? 

Your electric grill should have a temperature between 300 and 400 degrees F while cooking drumsticks. 

How do you know when chicken drumsticks are done? 

The best way to determine the doneness of chicken drumsticks on a grill is by inserting a well-calibrated instant meat thermometer into the meat to check on the internal temperature.

Well-cooked drumsticks should read 165 (minimum internal temperature) to 180 degrees F. 

However, if you don’t have a meat thermometer, you can use a sharp for the same task.

You should pierce the thickest part of the drumstick with a sharp knife. If you see clear juices run from the drumstick, then it’s cooked. 

Check out Atgrills indoor electric grills and griddles to cook chicken drumsticks on a cookware with natural stone coating.