BBQ chicken drumsticks

These sticky and sweet BBQ chicken drumsticks are a delicious family dinner kids will love. With a delicious BBQ marinade they are perfect for a summer BBQ or picnic.

These BBQ chicken drumsticks have become a favourite in our house. Our two little ones can be a bit reluctant to eat meat, but I’ve discovered that if it comes with a delicious sauce (and for our wee man if it comes on the bone still) they are much more likely to enjoy it. BBQ sauce is a great one for kids as there is a lot of sweetness and stickiness in it. And with the drumsticks our kids enjoyed getting to eat with their hands, although you can cut the meat off the bone if you/they prefer!

We oven baked our drumsticks because I like dinners that I can just pop in the oven and forget about while I do something else. They’d also work on a grill or on the BBQ in the summer. You’d just need to make sure the chicken gets cooked through if you do it that way.

How can kids help make this chicken drumstick recipe?

This is such a simple dish, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing for kids to help with. Children will be able to help measure the ingredients for the marinade out and mix it all together. As you don’t need to be too accurate when measuring the sauce, even little kids should be able to help with this step.

Ingredients

¾ cup Ketchup
½ cup Honey
1 tbsp Soy sauce
1 tbsp Balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp Brown sugar
1 tsp Worcester sauce
1 tsp salt

Method

Make the BBQ marinade

Get your kids to help measure all the marinade ingredients into a large bowl. This is a good opportunity to let them practice measuring using cups and table spoons, as you don’t need to be as accurate as you do when you bake.

Add the chicken drumsticks

Before you put the drumsticks into the marinade, make a couple of scores with a sharp knife across the meaty part of the drumstick.

Add all the drumsticks to the bowl and mix it around so everything is well coated in the sauce. Cover and leave in the fridge for an hour or more.

Bake the BBQ chicken drumsticks

Preheat your oven to 180C / 170C Fan / 350F

Lay the drumsticks out in a shallow oven dish and pour the sauce on top. Cook them in the oven for 30-40 minutes. You can take them out the oven and turn them or baste them half way through to make sure all the sides are coated in the sauce.

They’re ready when they juices run clear and the meat is no longer pink.

We like to serve these with potato wedges and baked beans or, they’d go nicely with coleslaw or a salad.