Barbecued Crispy Chicken Legs
This easy chicken leg recipe requires simple ingredients, works both for the grill and the oven, and makes for a quick, delicious dinner for the whole family!
Equipment
- 1 Grill (affiliate link) — We use this grill at home, it's ideal for balconies. You can connect it to a large propane cylinder with an adapter hose or use the smaller propane bottle.
- 1 Basting brush
- 1 Instant read thermometer
Ingredients
- 7 Whole chicken legs Skin-on chicken works best if you want the crispiness
- 1 bunch Cilantro stems
- 1½ inch knob
Galangal (affiliate link) - 1 teaspoon Salt Kosher salt works best
- ½ teaspoon
MSG (affiliate link) - 1 pod Palm sugar Use brown sugar or maple syrup as an alternative
- 1 teaspoon
Soy sauce (affiliate link) - 1 tablespoon
Oyster sauce (affiliate link) - 1 teaspoon
Kampot pepper (affiliate link) crushed or ground - 6 cloves Garlic Garlic powder as an alternative
- 4 tablespoons Honey
- 1 tbsp Chili powder optional
Instructions
- Cut stems out from a cilantro bunch and chop into 1/4-inch pieces.
- Cut the galangal into thin slices.
- Place garlic cloves, black pepper, salt, MSG, palm sugar, galangal, and cilantro into the mortar and pound with the pestle until you turn the ingredients into a paste, then move the paste to a mixing bowl.
- Add soy sauce, oyster sauce, and honey to the bowl and mix everything together. You've got your marinade!
- Wash the chicken legs and pat them dry with paper towels to remove excess moisture.
- Place chicken legs into a dish where you will marinate them, cover with the marinade, and mix thoroughly to ensure that the sauce smothers the chicken legs completely.
- Allow the chicken to marinate for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat on low, and brush the grill with cooking oil or olive oil.
- Place the chicken legs onto the grill with the skin side up.
- Depending on your grill's heat output, you may or may not want to close the lid. If the heat yield is low or normal, go ahead and close the lid. But if the grill produces a higher temperature than normal, you may want to close the lid periodically — doing so will speed up the cooking process and put out any grease fires on the grill as you starve the fire of oxygen. However, keeping the lid closed for too long on a grill that gives off lots of heat will cause your chicken legs to dry out and possibly get charred.
- Baste the chicken legs with a single layer of the marinade sauce.
- Turn the chicken legs onto the skin side after the first 10 minutes, then flip them back 2 minutes later (so the skin doesn't burn). Continue flipping the legs at the same interval and baste the legs a couple of times more between flips. For best results, adjust the number of flips based on the heat output of your grill.
- Continue to cook until the meat has reached temperatures of 165°F or higher before serving the chicken legs (ensure you have a meat thermometer handy when you grill). The cooking time will vary depending on the size of the legs and the grill's heat output.
Notes
If you don't have a grill, or would prefer to make these BBQ chicken legs into (easy) baked chicken legs, follow steps 1-7 in the recipe above. Then, set your oven temperature to 375 degrees F, place the chicken legs into a baking pan and cover with aluminum foil, and set the dish in the oven. After 50 minutes, remove the foil and set the oven to "broil" — your crispy baked chicken legs should be ready 5 minutes later. Note that the baking time may vary depending on the size of the legs and the oven's heating output.
Nutrition
Calories: 1885kcalCarbohydrates: 120gProtein: 126.1gFat: 112.1gSodium: 3018mgFiber: 7.8gSugar: 79.2gCalcium: 22mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!