Teriyaki Chicken Drumsticks

Teriyaki Chicken Drumsticks, Thighs and Wings use our easy honey teriyaki marinade, sauce, or store bought, baked in an oven, slow cooker, BBQ or air fryer!

Baked Teriyaki Chicken Legs, Drumsticks and Thighs

Tyler visited today and decided he wanted to cook chicken drumsticks two ways.

He is seven and eventually may rule the world. I’m not even kidding.

For now though he has decided he wants to find a job basting chicken. I have to tell you he took this job seriously and if the opportunity arises I think he would be a fabulous baster! ?

Actually he will be fabulous at anything he decides to do. Even if it is rule the world! 

He wants me to tell you that we made these Teriyaki Chicken Drumsticks and some Honey Mustard Chicken Drumsticks today.

The Honey Mustard Chicken Drumsticks are his favorite and these Teriyaki Chicken Drumsticks are not bad either. 

This recipe, will show you how to make the BEST Teriyaki Chicken Legs, Drumsticks and Thighs in your oven, slow cooker BBQ or airfryer.

You will also learn how to make the best teriyaki sauce and teriyaki chicken marinade with ingredients you likely already have inside your home!

It is super easy to do and the taste is so much better overall.

That being said you can easily use store bought. 

The choice is yours.

Also, just to clarify, a chicken drumstick is just a drumstick and a chicken leg includes the drumstick and a thigh. I have included timing for all three, whenever possible.

Teriyaki Honey Chicken

In order to make the best teriyaki honey chicken you have to start with an amazing, homemade teriyaki sauce that includes honey! In my opinion, there is just no other way to do it.

Teriyaki honey chicken can be made in so many ways, with so many different cuts of chicken.

Our homemade teriyaki sauce includes soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, mirin or rice wine and honey. I always include honey and use it to make the teriyaki sauce sweeter if necessary.

You add the honey to your teriyaki sauce after you have cooked and reduced it.

As always, I encourage you to taste as you go. Keep adding a little honey at a time, stirring and tasting after each addition, until you reach the perfect amount of sweetness for you and your family.

This teriyaki honey chicken recipe is a definite keeper.

Chicken Teriyaki Sauce and Marinade

To be honest I do prefer to make my own homemade teriyaki sauce or teriyaki chicken marinade when I have the time or feel like it. 

Our teriyaki chicken marinade does not use brown sugar or honey and involves NO cooking. I started leaving sugars out of marinades and am finding the food tastes better.

The chicken is more flavorful.

As far as our teriyaki sauce goes, not only do I think making homemade tastes better, but you get to control how sweet the sauce is. 

You will have to cook your teriyaki sauce on your stove top and reduce it. It doesn’t take long and is worth the effort!

More often than not I make my own marinade and sauce. Once you taste the difference you will too.

I have used extra sugar, honey and even some pineapple juice and all worked out well. 

If you have never made your own teriyaki sauce you should definitely put it on your bucket list!

Ingredients in Easy Teriyaki Sauce

• soy sauce
• brown sugar
• ginger
• garlic
• honey
• mirin or Japanese rice wine
• cornstarch

How to make Easy Teriyaki Sauce

In a small saucepan combine soy sauce, sugar, ginger, and garlic. 

In a small bowl combine mirin and cornstarch. 

Stir until cornstarch is dissolved. 

Next, add to soy mixture.

Bring sauce to boil over medium high heat, stirring occasionally. 

Then reduce your heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce is reduced and becomes syrupy, between 5 and 7 minutes. 

Add honey and stir. 

Taste mixture to see if you want to add more honey.  My husband prefers a sweeter teriyaki sauce than I do!  Add more honey if you desire! 

Cover and set aside until needed.  

Chicken Drumstick Teriyaki Marinade 

We never use homemade Teriyaki Sauce as a marinade. I suppose you could but for the purposes of marinating we have found you do not need to heat and reduce the ingredients.

We eliminated the sugar in the marinade and the chicken tasted so much better. Now we always leave the sugars out while marinating.

For example, if we want to use a teriyaki chicken marinade we do it this way instead.

Ingredients in Easy Teriyaki Marinade

• ½ cup soy sauce
• ¼ cup mirin, a Japanese rice wine
• 1 tablespoon ginger, fresh grated or minced
• 1 tablespoon garlic, minced

To be honest, I always add more garlic than that. I just can’t help it and I do it with most recipes. Even before I try them. I can’t be the only one who does this.

I just can’t be.

My husband thinks I’m nuts but he has never once complained about too much garlic! Now that I think about it he doesn’t complain about much! 

Overall, I am one lucky lady.

Now back to the recipe.

With this marinade I always add a heaping tablespoon of ginger too. I’m always more careful with ginger. Aren’t you?

How to make Easy Teriyaki Marinade

Add ingredients into a large resealable bag and adjust until blended.

Add chicken, toss with mixture in bag, remove as much air as possible and refrigerate for between 1 and 24 hours. I usually adjust the chicken when I open up the fridge.

Ingredients in Baked Teriyaki Chicken Drumsticks

• chicken drumsticks or chicken legs
• teriyaki sauce, store bought or our homemade
• salt
• pepper
• cooking spray

How to make Easy Teriyaki Chicken Drumsticks

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Prepare a rimmed baking sheet with tinfoil and a rack lightly coated in cooking spray. Set aside.

Rinse drumsticks and pat dry with paper towels.

Sprinkle drumsticks liberally with salt and pepper.

Place on your prepared sheet spaced evenly apart.

Bake for between 30-35 minutes (DRUMSTICKS), 35-40 minutes (CHICKEN THIGHS) and 40-45 minutes (CHICKEN LEGS). Skin should be crisp and internal temperature should be 165 degrees.

Get out your ingredients and prepare your teriyaki sauce. It will be finished before your chicken is cooked.

Once cooked, coat them with your sauce, using a brush if possible.

Bake for another 5 minutes.

Remove from oven and coat with more sauce.

Allow to sit for a few minutes before serving.

Serve with additional sauce on the side if desired.

Enjoy every bite!

Teriyaki Chicken Wings 

First, I have to tell you that if you’re looking to make amazing teriyaki chicken wings, in your oven or slow cooker, I urge you to have a look at our amazing recipe for chicken wings. 

There you will find an easy recipe to either slow cook your chicken wings in your oven or slow cooker.

You end up with crispy skin and can coat your wings with any sauce your heart desires, including our amazing homemade teriyaki sauce. Hopefully you enjoy that recipe as much as we do.

How to Grill Teriyaki Chicken Drumsticks

We haven’t been able to come up with a pineapple flavored teriyaki glaze better than this one. It was created at cookscountry.com and is terrific.

If you are not a fan of pineapple juice you can always use orange juice or water will work just fine!

Pineapple Teriyaki Sauce

• ⅔ cup soy sauce
• ⅔ cup pineapple juice, orange juice or water
• ¼ cup mirin, a Japanese rice wine
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated or minced
• 1 heaping tablespoon garlic, minced
• 6 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch

Combine soy sauce, juice or water, mirin, ginger, and garlic in saucepan.

Marinate chicken for up to 24 hours, if desired.

Meanwhile, whisk sugar and cornstarch into remaining soy sauce mixture in saucepan.

Simmer over medium-high heat until thickened and reduced to ¾ cup, about 5 minutes.

Glaze can be refrigerated for up to 1 day.

Barbecue

Turn all of your burners to high and close your cover for about 15 minutes.

Next, leave your main burner on high and turn off all of your other burner or burners.

Grill temperature should ideally be between 325 and 350 degrees.

Brush clean and oil your cooking grates.

Place your drumsticks, skin side down, on the side of your barbecue that is turned off. You will be cooking your chicken on this side only.

Close your lid and cook for 25 minutes.

Adjust your chicken drumsticks on the cooler side of the barbecue so that the drumsticks closest to the on or hot side of the barbecue get flipped over to the other side of the cool side of the barbecue.

All drumsticks have to get access to the same amount of heat on the side of the barbecue that is off.

Basically you invert all of your drumsticks on the cool side of your barbecue.

I hope I am making sense.

Cover and cook until drumsticks register 185 to 190 degrees, another 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the size of your drumsticks.

Once cooked, move all of your drumsticks to the hot side of your grill and cook, turning occasionally, until skin is nicely charred, about 5 more minutes.

Transfer chicken to serving platter and brush with sauce.

Allow to rest 10 minutes.

Serve with remaining glaze.

Original Teriyaki Chicken Drumsticks Recipe

Here is the original recipe we posted so many years ago. Just in case you are looking to make it again for you and your family. We changed or updated it because we enjoyed the results better.

There was nothing wrong with the Original Teriyaki Chicken Drumsticks Recipe, we just figured since we prefer the new method that you might just too!

Regardless, we made the version below for years and it is terrific!

Ingredients and Directions

• chicken drumsticks
• teriyaki sauce (store bought or homemade)
• cooking spray

Reserve ½ cup of your teriyaki sauce for basting later.

Rinse chicken and pat dry with paper towel.

Place rinsed chicken in a large resealable plastic bag.

Pour the marinade over the chicken, seal the bag and adjust to ensure the legs are evenly coated with the marinade.

Marinate for at least 2 hours, in the refrigerator.

When you are ready to cook preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare a rimmed baking sheet with tinfoil coated in cooking spray.

Place chicken on your baking sheet.

Bake turning and basting occasionally until cooked, about 1 hour. 

Serve and enjoy!

Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken Drumsticks

Making slow cooker teriyaki chicken drumsticks could not be easier or more delicious!

• 2-3 pounds chicken drumsticks, trimmed or 4 chicken leg quarters, trimmed
• salt
• pepper
• cooking spray

How to make Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken Drumsticks

Prepare your slow cooker with cooking spray.

Add salt and pepper to a large resealable bag and adjust until blended.

Add chicken legs or drumsticks and toss until coated.

Place inside slow cooker as evenly spaced as possible.

Cover and cook on low until chicken is cooked and tender, 4 to 5 hours.

Adjust your oven rack 6 inches from your broiler.

Turn your oven on to broil and allow it to preheat.

Prepare a rimmed baking sheet with tin foil and a rack lightly coated in cooking spray.

Place chicken pieces on top of your rack as evenly spaced as possible.

Broil chicken until lightly browned and charred, about 10 minutes, flipping chicken halfway through broiling.

Brush chicken with sauce, if using, and continue to broil until lightly charred, about another 5 minutes, flipping and brushing chicken with more sauce halfway through broiling.

Brush chicken with remaining sauce.

Serve and enjoy every bite.

Doesn’t that sound terrific? I hope you want to try to slow cook your chicken drumsticks and then oven broil them! I am pretty sure you will be glad you did.

Air Fryer Teriyaki Chicken Drumsticks or Legs

I just had to include this recipe for how to make teriyaki chicken drumsticks in your air fryer. I just love using mine. Just in case you love yours too, here is how to do it.

• chicken drumsticks, trimmed or chicken leg quarters, trimmed
• vegetable oil

Spice Rub

• salt
• pepper

Pat drumsticks or legs dry with paper towels.

Using a sharp knife or metal skewer, poke 10 to 15 holes in skin of each drumstick or chicken leg.

Rub with oil and sprinkle evenly with salt and pepper.

Arrange drumsticks in air fryer basket, spaced evenly apart, alternating ends and skin side up if using chicken legs.

Place basket in air fryer and set temperature to 400 degrees.

Cook until chicken DRUMSTICKS are crisp and register 195 degrees, 22 to 25 minutes, flipping and rotating chicken halfway through cooking.

Cook until chicken LEGS are well browned and crisp and register 195 degrees, 27 to 30 minutes, rotating chicken halfway through cooking but do not flip the chicken.

Cook until chicken THIGHS are well browned and crisp and register 195 degrees, 20 to 30 minutes, rotating chicken halfway through cooking but do not flip the chicken.

The problem with exact timing is that chicken thighs range in size. If you have smaller thighs, check at 20 minutes and large thighs check at 26 minutes or more.

Cover each with teriyaki sauce.

Transfer chicken to large plate, tent loosely with aluminum foil, and let rest for 5 minutes.

Serve and enjoy every bite.

I have always loved a good drumstick and now prefer them to chicken wings.  More meat and definitely less work.  You will find some of our favorites below.  I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

Other Delicious Chicken Drumstick Recipes to Try

Slow Cooker Honey Barbecue Drumsticks

Chinese Honey Chicken Drumsticks

Honey Mustard Chicken Drumsticks

Easy Buffalo Chicken Drumsticks

Our video is below and I can’t wait for you to see this teriyaki sauce being made and just how easy it is to make it.  Once you try it you may never use store bought again!  Also, these drumsticks are absolutely wonderful use for the teriyaki sauce too!  ?

Teriyaki Chicken Drumsticks Video