When Grilling Chicken Drumsticks, Don't Skip This Step For Tender Results

Although steak tends to receive all the grilling fanfare, there's something to be said about food you can eat with your hands, like juicy chicken drumsticks. Yet, whereas a ribeye doesn't require much more than slapping that seasoned hunk of beef on screaming hot grates, treating drummies that way is the best way to ruin them. When started over high flames they burn on the outside before the inside has a chance to fully cook. The key to grilling juicy chicken drumsticks with a crispy skin is beginning with slow, even heat –- a perfect job for the stove.

Ashley Lonsdale, chef-in-residence at ButcherBox, revealed that giving chicken drumsticks a head start in boiling water before they ever hit the grill helps prep them for that appetizing char. "Chicken drumsticks have a high skin-to-meat ratio and plenty of connective tissue, which, when cooked for longer periods, breaks down to a tender interior and crispy exterior," she said. "Boiling chicken drumsticks before grilling renders the fat of the skin and gives the connective tissue a chance to break down before charring and crisping the skin on a hot grill."

The same concept applies to grilling brats, which can often burn before the inside reaches a safe temperature. As a bonus, if you parboil the chicken in a flavorful mixture of stock and herbs, you can infuse the meat with flavor prior to any outdoor cooking. However, there is another option if you want your grilled fare to be prepared exclusively outside. Lonsdale said, "Personally, I skip boiling but do use a two-step process: low- and high-heat grilling."

Parboiling chicken drumsticks before grilling will get you a mouthwateringly tender result, but Ashley Lonsdale recommends a simpler technique that allows the grill to do all the slow cooking for you. "The benefits are almost identical when using a two-zone grill, which simply means having a hot side and a cooler side of the grill operating at the same time," she said. "Beginning the drumsticks on the cooler side to render the fat, then moving them to the hotter side to crisp and finish."

You can set up your two-zone grill with charcoal or propane. With charcoal, just place the hot coals on one side of the firebox. If you prefer clean-burning propane versus charcoal, turn half the burners on one side up to high, leaving the others low, or off altogether. In both instances, the side not in direct contact with the flames will heat food slowly, allowing any fat on your drummies to completely render before you finish them on the side with high heat to crisp up the outside.

A two-zone grill is also beneficial if you're applying a sauce to chicken drumsticks. Sauce will stick to the grill grates when it's sitting over direct heat for long periods, and is more likely to burn rather than caramelize. Precooking chicken over low heat keeps the meat juicy and ensures that any sauce is glimmering when dinner is served.