BBQ Chicken Drumsticks with Beer & Honey Glaze

BBQ chicken drumsticks cooked in a sticky beer and honey glaze are just as awesome cooked on the barbecue as they are in the oven.

With instructions for both cooking methods, this recipe will have you licking those sticky fingers all year around.

Barbecue Chicken Drumsticks

As far as I am concerned chicken drumsticks are perfect finger food, lets face it, they come with a handle!

Just grabbing hold of the knuckle and gnawing down on the sweet juicy meat is wonderfully primal. The sticky fingers are a wonderful reminder of childhood before we got so prissy about appearances too.

Usually my recipes involving drummers use a whole chicken leg broken into two pieces, much like my Jamaican brown stew chicken.

This BBQ chicken drumsticks recipe is all about the drummers though.

This recipe is not the first here to play with these ideas! This sticky chicken drumstick recipe was one of the first on my site. To this day it remains one of the most popular recipes here on Krumpli.

The flavours on these bad boys are very different. Sure the sweetness remains but there is a very grown up flavour on these beer glazed BBQ Chicken Drumsticks.

That flavour comes from a wonderfully simple beer syrup made with a dark lager. This is fortified with Worcestershire sauce, honey, treacle, paprika, garlic and a decent pinch of chilli.

Frequently Asked Questions

What beer should I use?

I use a dark beer, Staropramen dark to be specific. I have tested this recipe with stout, porter and a ruby porter, all work really well and give the drummers a different vibe.

Can I use a different cut of chicken?

Yes, this works just as well on both wings and thighs, timings will naturally vary.

In fact, if you wanted to chop up a whole chicken (see below) and drop it on the grill you can use the cooking timings on my BBQ Tandoori Chicken recipe.

Is this recipe better cooked on the grill or in the oven?

The flavour is definitely better on the grill, those crispy caramelised bits are just magic. But the flip side of that is that cooking then and eating them in November in sideways rain kinda ruins the magic.

Do I have to make them spicy?

No, simply omit the chilli powder and dial back the black pepper and you are good to go.

Serving Suggestions

I like to serve these sticky BBQ chicken drumsticks with loads of pickles and a cold beer. Especially if I am cooking them on the barbecue.

Hungarians and Central Europe in general have the best pickles I have ever tried and I have a pickle “problem”, I cannot get enough of them!

I never make my own as there are only two of us. But every market has a pickle store & verything from pickled cucumbers and cabbage to garlic and baby watermelon gets the treatment.

My wife likes to eat them with a mountain of potato salad.

If I am cooking them in the oven, I am much more likely to through some potato wedges in the air fryer or some fried potatoes. My fried polenta chips also make a great side dish for these drumsticks.

If you wanted to add some veggies then air fryer asparagus would work really well alongside these BBQ chicken drumsticks.

Equipment Used

I only name-check brands of equipment if I think that they make a material difference to a recipe. But if you have any questions feel free to ask them in the comments section below the recipe.

• BBQ or Oven.
• Stovetop if you are cooking the drummers in the oven.
• 17cm or 7″ saucepan.
• Kitchen tongs.
• Weighing scales and or measuring jug, cups and spoons.
• A quick read meat thermometer, optional but I believe that they are an essential piece of kitchen kit.