butterflied drumsticks

Butterflied chicken drumsticks are an obvious solution to make crispier, more flavorful chicken drumsticks with much less cooking time. Take a few minutes to split open the meat, season, and grill.

Grilled Butterflied Chicken Drumsticks

chicken drumsticks

BBQ Sauce,

oil,

Pat the chicken drumsticks dry. Take a drumstick and place it on your cutting board, with the side up facing you that has the most meat showing. Using a sharp knife, cut the meat along one side of the bone, careful not to slice all the way through. Make a second cut, separating the meat from the other side of the bone.  Fold open the meat and lay the drumstick face-down. Repeat for each one.

Season the drumsticks. If grilling immediately, brush a light coat of oil on the wings before seasoning. If grilling later, skip the oil, season generously and then place them uncovered in the fridge on a wire rack for 2 hours, up to overnight.

Preheat grill to medium-high, 400°F for direct cooking. Use a grill with a lid.

Remove the chicken from the fridge at least 20 minutes before adding to the grill, allowing them to come to room temp.

Place the drumsticks on the grill grates with the skin-side up. Close the lid and allow them to cook for 5-6 minutes.

Flip the drumsticks, and repeat the process. You&#8217;ll continue to flip and close the lid every few minutes until they are almost cooked. This should take about 20-25 minutes depending on your grill.

Once the chicken temperature is about 155-160°F, go ahead and baste with your BBQ sauce or glaze. Leave the lid off, allowing the heat to blast the outside of the chicken and create caramelization and char. Flip and repeat, cooking until the chicken is about 170-175°F.

Absolutely game changing cooking technique. When I stumbled across Brad’s post it just clicked all the boxes- budget, texture and flavour enhancement. 
With the price of chicken wings this is such a brilliant alternative cooking opportunity. Takes mere minutes to prep and never leaves leftovers!

This is a brilliant idea! We followed Brad’s method and the chicken came out incredible. It’s a bit of knife work but really not that bad. The drumsticks open up easily.  Kids said it was like eating chicken wings but less messy!

This is an awesome twist on traditional drums! We loved how they crisped up and had more area for our rub!  They also cook through easier! My kids loved them!

Hands down one of the best ways I've made drumsticks! Crispy, juicy, and so much more intriguing when they make it to the table for the family! It's on repeat now Brad! Thank you

Amazing process! Speeds up the cook on drumsticks and allows for much better rub and glaze coverage. Highly recommend

Awesome new way to eat an American Favorite.  This is a game changer with Chicken Legs and the flavor combinations are endless.   There's nothing better than a crispy crunchy bite every time!

When I saw you doing this, I was like what is he doing?  But then I had to give it a try and I will never look at chicken legs the same way again!  Creates a lot more surface and which means more crispy edges!  Awesome technique Brad!  Keep ‘em coming dude! 👊🏻🤙🏻

What an amazing and super easy recipe! Loved taking something not too loved and turning into something new and exciting! Great job on this one brad! Its a home run at our house now!

Super fun way to do legs- love bringing back and old technique and turning it into something delish ! Love doing it myself with some white alabama sauce

My new go to method for drumsticks!  A quick and easy butterfly of the drum and now it eats like a thigh with a handle.  Love how it makes so much more surface area for all of the seasoning, sauce, and carmelization!

Love this recipe! It’s my new favorite way of grilling chicken drumsticks. Kids love it too!

This is a sure-fire winner and will make you look like a genius at your next cookout! Brad described it perfectly but think about it....faster cook times, more even cooking throughout, and way better meat to seasoning ratio. An instant classic with so many possibilities!

When I first saw Brad’s post on IG showing his butterflied drumstick technique I knew immediately I needed to try it!  Our family loves drumsticks but they can take too long to cook right and with the traditional way of cooking the flavor is just on the outside. Adding the butterflied option it solves both of those problems. It allows them to cook quicker and you get more flavor because you are increasing the overall surface area.  I’ve tried these in the oven in a cast iron skillet which works extremely well in addition to cooking on the smoker. Definitely recommend this technique and recipe. You will not be disappointed!

I loved everything about this. It takes something we all probably have stocked in our freezer and gave it a fun new twist that amplifies all of the best things about chicken. The way it takes on flavors increases ten fold whether you’re simply seasoning it or marinating it. It makes an already quick cooking weeknight staple cook that much faster. And what is better than that crispy bite kissed by char? These butterflied drums are begging for a date with fire. It’s also something anyone can do, no fancy tools and mad knife skills required.

I’ll admit, I’m not usually big on drum sticks..  but these were a game changer.  I ended up with a nice crisp outside, with tender and juicy meat.  The whole family (even the picky 4 year old) LOVED when I cooked them this way.  They were easier for the kids to eat as well.   Definitely recommend giving this method a try, it’s worth it!

Such a simple idea that works so well. Flavor is why we grill in the first place. This is a great way to add even more flavor. I tried this and absolutely love this method.

Brad is a gentleman and a scholar. The Albert Einstein of food. This recipe really shows his ability to create and overcome his crippling handicap of not being v good looking.

This is a great recipe and technique. I tried it and was so happy with how juicy the chicken stayed. I’ll definitely do this again. Thank you for sharing!

Butterflies drummies are a weekly staple now, I love getting that extra char off the charcoal grill!

I’ve never seen this until you posted yours and I immediately had to make them!! Amazing recipe and the process of butterflying the chicken legs is genius. I love the charred bits and will only grill my legs this way from now on.

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