How Long do you Bake Chicken Legs – Oven Barbecued Chicken Drumsticks
Serves six
12 thawed chicken legs – small to medium (larger drumsticks will take longer to cook)
2 TBS olive oil
1 TBS coarse salt
2 tsp. black pepper
1 cup BBQ sauce of choice
Heat oven to 400 degrees.
Rinse and pat dry the chicken (make sure it is completely thawed) and place it in a large roasting pan or a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle the chicken with olive oil and season it generously with salt and pepper. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 25 minutes. Reduce the heat to 375.
Remove the chicken from the oven and brush – on both sides and liberally – with barbecue sauce. I like my homemade apple juice bbq sauce but you can use whatever you like.
Place the chicken back into the oven and cook for an extra 10 minutes. Remove from oven and brush both sides one more time. Place in oven for an extra 7 to 10 minutes until the bbq sauce caramelizes and the chicken registers 170 degrees on a meat thermometer placed close to the bone. You can also slice the chicken, close to the bone, and if it is pink cook it for longer. I would cook it in 5 minute increments. Whatever you do, make sure your chicken is completely cooked through before serving. All ovens are different so your times might vary. I served mine with broccoli slaw and sweet potato chips.
Enjoy!
2 chicken legs – CALORIES 345.31; FAT 16.52 grs (sat 4.07; mono 8.14; poly 3.27); PROTEIN 26.07 grs ; FIBER 1.54 grs; CARBS 20.71 grs; CHOLESTEROL 110 mg; IRON 1.67 mg; SODIUM 1514.05 mg; CALCIUM 3.16 mg
Print the Oven BBQ Chicken Legs Recipe Here
Becky
January 21, 2012 at 9:31 pm
These came out great! I had fairly large drumsticks, cooked them for about 25-30 minutes, then 7 more with BBQ sauce, turned them and 5 more minutes. They were fully cooked, moist and juicy, with the lightly caramelized BBQ sauce adding just the right touch. Thanks for the recipe!
theFrugalChef
January 24, 2012 at 9:19 am
Hi Becky!
I am so happy to hear this! Thank you so much for the message. Have a great week!
Mary Ann
theFrugalChef
January 24, 2012 at 9:24 am
Hi Jessica!
Thank you so much for your message. I am happy you like this. I think chicken breast would work great with this. Just follow the recipe. Have a great week!
Mary Ann
Heather
January 26, 2012 at 5:54 am
I had family pack of drumsticks wasn’t sure what I was going to do with them so I Googled and your site came up they where absolutely delicious my husband loved them as well next time I will try making your apple bbq sauce thanks for your time
theFrugalChef
January 26, 2012 at 6:25 am
Hi Heather!
Thank you for giving these a try! I am so happy they worked out for you! I htink you will love the bbq sauce. Everybody does. You are welcome for my time – it is my sincere pleasure! I appreciate you coming by.
Mary Ann
Ann
January 28, 2012 at 7:21 pm
Mary Ann, this is a first. To see the gratitude you show required a comment. To post to each individual just amazed me. I love your site and God bless you for your gratefulness.
PS… but with a name like Ann, you can’t be anything but nice.
theFrugalChef
January 28, 2012 at 7:31 pm
Hi Ann!
Yup! Its the name! Hahaha. Thank you for stopping by! I really appreciate it. I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Mary Ann
AL From Philadelphia, P.A
February 5, 2012 at 8:18 am
Thanks for the recipe my father had got a mini oven and I was looking for some tips and your page came up first so I. Checked it out thanks again
Jim
February 5, 2012 at 4:04 pm
The time seems way too short to me. I’ve got legs in the oven right now at 400 degrees and for very nearly an hour and they are not close to done yet.
Are you sure about that time?
theFrugalChef
February 10, 2012 at 5:17 pm
Hi Jim!
I make these all the time and the time I posted is what works. I am surprised that your chicken is not cooked after an hour at 400 degrees. I don’t understand why. Thank you very much for coming by. Have a great weekend!
Mary Ann
theFrugalChef
February 10, 2012 at 5:20 pm
Hi Al!
You are welcome! I am happy this helps. Have a great weekend!
Mary Ann
Hayden
February 24, 2012 at 8:18 pm
Although overs vary, at 350-375 it would be rare that the chicken would be completely cooked in less than 40mins total bake time.
theFrugalChef
February 27, 2012 at 12:16 pm
Thank you for stopping by!
Mary Ann
stacey colletti
March 5, 2012 at 7:16 am
Hey I am holding a dinner party in a couple of weeks and i am thinking of doing chicken wings. How long should i bake them for?
theFrugalChef
March 7, 2012 at 5:54 am
Hi Stacey!
I have many recipes for chicken wings in the oven. Check them out! Thanks for stopping by!
Mary Ann
Rose
March 7, 2012 at 5:36 pm
Well, the time given was kind of a fail. Still quite raw. Dinner will be very late this evening.
theFrugalChef
March 7, 2012 at 6:39 pm
Hi Rose,
I am sorry these took longer for you. As I stated, times and ovens do vary. This is how long these take in mine. I hope they were worth the wait. Thanks for giving these a chance!
Mary Ann
Amanda
March 12, 2012 at 5:22 pm
I had the same problem as Jim but then covered the pan with foil and that finished it up quick.
theFrugalChef
March 16, 2012 at 5:35 pm
Thank you Amanda!
Jenny Wolfe
March 21, 2012 at 6:42 am
I came across this site, specifically this article, by accident…or maybe it was divine intervention. Looks like I need to get a shopping list going. I am curious, do you think the bbq sauce would work as well using something other than molasses? My hubby really watches his sugar and it complicates my kitchen fun sometimes.
theFrugalChef
March 23, 2012 at 7:49 am
Hi Jenny!
Welcome! Go ahead and add brown sugar instead of the molasses. Hopefully that helps! Thank you!
Mary Ann
Zak
April 10, 2012 at 2:35 pm
Hey! Just finishing making these! they look so good so far! I was reading some earlier comments and noticed that someone had 400 degrees and still not cooked and I looked back through your recipe and noticed that you did not give separate times for thawed vs frozen drum sticks or specify that your cooking times are specifically for thawed drum sticks. Maybe do an edit to address this? Great recipe though! Meat was falling right off the bone!
theFrugalChef
April 12, 2012 at 4:42 am
Hi Zak!
Thank you so much for the message! I had not thought of that. I will definitely specify that the chicken must be thawed. It never occurred to me that people might be trying to bake frozen chicken. Great tip! I am very happy these worked for you. I really appreciate it!
Mary Ann
ben
April 16, 2012 at 3:25 pm
tried this, they unfortunately didnt come out done, i had to do it an additional twenty minutes, could just be my stove though. Looked great til it was pink on the inside like mad.
theFrugalChef
April 21, 2012 at 6:03 am
Hi Ben!
Thanks for the message. I am sorry this did not work for you with the times. As I said, and I will go back and restate this, every oven is different and sometimes things take longer. I am living in La Paz, Bolivia – at 12,000 feet and things here do take longer to cook. So it surprises me that it takes so much longer at lower altitudes. Oh well, thanks for giving these a chance! Have a great weekend!
Mary Ann
kristoffer
May 6, 2012 at 6:24 pm
Hi Mary Ann, I’m a chef in the Chicago suburbs, and I shes your times and played w/ your bbq, it came out great however in the pack of drumsticks i.got three of them were small and two quite a bit larger, thats what I get w/ buying random sized chicken nonconstancy anyway the three smaller pc. Cooked.spot on w/ your times but the two larger ones took an extra 20 minutes. Or so… Also at home we have a conventional oven at work we have conviction ovens that circulate the air so every pc . Would have been cooked through in 30-35 minutes max… Thanks for the bbq and info it was very helpful.
theFrugalChef
May 7, 2012 at 6:16 am
Hi Kristoffer!
Thank you so much for this message! You might have noticed that there are all kinds of comments – some worked perfectly, some needed extra time. Your point is excellent! I always get smaller drumsticks so, of course, they cook faster. I will add that to the instructions. I didn’t even think about this. I really appreciate you taking the time to write me! Have a wonderful week!
Mary Ann
Esther Gonzalez
May 10, 2012 at 7:35 pm
My family loved this recipe, I pre heated the oven as I prepared the chicken cooked it for 30 min instead of 25 but came out delouses made mac N cheese with steamed vegies. next time ill try it with your apple bbq sauce.
-thank you for this recipe
theFrugalChef
May 13, 2012 at 10:36 am
Thanks Esther! I am so happy this worked for you. I appreciate you letting me know. Have a wonderful week!
Mary Ann