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By Katja Heino 14 Comments
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Picnic-Style Lemon Basil Chicken Drumsticks

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basil lemon drumsticks

Going to a picnic or a potluck this summer?  Need a healthy, nutritious meal to take with you?  My family loves these Lemon Basil Chicken Drumsticks. They pack away nicely to take to the beach, to the park, or any fun outdoor event you may be going to.  

Screen shot 2013-07-15 at 9.17.20 AM

The secret to these delicious drumsticks is a long marinade.  Make the marinade the day before and allow the chicken pieces to soak up all the goodness for as long as possible in the fridge.  No need to heat up the house on a hot summer day.  Fire up the backyard barbeque, and you are all set to go.  You will be amazed at how flavorful and tender these drumsticks are.

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Picnic-Style Lemon Basil Chicken Drumsticks

Picnic-Style Lemon Basil Chicken Drumsticks

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  • Author: Katja from the Savory Lotus
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Ingredients

Scale
  • 12 chicken drumsticks

For marinade:

  • 3 TBS butter, ghee (like this), or coconut oil (like this), melted
  • 4 cloves fresh garlic
  • 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped
  • 1 tsp celtic sea salt (like this one)

Instructions

For marinade:

  1. Combine all marinade ingredients in a blender and process until smooth, like salad dressing.
  2. Pat chicken drumstick dry with paper towel and place into shallow baking dish. Pour marinade on top, toss to evenly coat, cover, and place in fridge to marinate. (I let mine marinate for 24 hours usually but overnight is fine)
  3. Pre-heat barbeque. Clean the grill well before cooking drumsticks and oil if necessary.
  4. Arrange marinaded drumsticks on BBQ, turn heat down to medium, and close cover.
  5. Flip drumsticks every 8-10 minutes until thoroughly cooked. (Mine usually take around 30-35 minutes, depending on how hot my grill is. Always be sure that the chicken reaches AT LEAST 165’F. I usually cook mine a bit hotter as my family like their chicken WELL done.)
  6. Remove from heat. Allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving OR cool completely before packing away for your outdoor adventure.
  7. ENJOY!!

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Lemon Basil Chicken Drumsticks - savorylotus.com

Screen shot 2013-07-15 at 9.15.00 AM

A long marinade makes for great flavor.

Screen shot 2013-07-15 at 9.16.03 AM

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Filed Under: Main Course Tagged With: how to cook chicken. chicken drumsticks

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Su says

    July 24, 2013 at 4:39 pm

    Can you make this in the oven?

    Reply
    • Katja says

      July 24, 2013 at 9:23 pm

      Yes, you can bake them in the oven. I would do it at a high temperature ~ 400′ F. If you have a baking pan with a rack on it, that would ensure the chicken gets evenly baked. If not, a plain baking pan will work. I would love to hear if you try this since I have never baked this particular recipe in the oven.

      Reply
      • Andi says

        September 3, 2016 at 7:22 am

        How long would you bake them for?

        Reply
        • Katja Heino says

          September 6, 2016 at 9:20 am

          Bake at 375’F for 45 minutes, or until cooked all the way through. 🙂

          Reply
  2. Dawn @TransformedByFood says

    August 6, 2013 at 12:56 pm

    I’m trying this recipe for dinner tonight! The drumsticks look really great barbequed, but I’m using the slow cooker, as I don’t have time to marinate right now. I couldn’t find pastured or organic drumsticks, so I’m using chicken breasts instead. We’ll see how it goes.

    I added half a cup of homemade chicken stock since more liquid is needed in the slow cooker. Can’t wait to try it! Thanks for sharing the recipe.

    Reply
    • Katja says

      August 6, 2013 at 1:38 pm

      I love my slow cooker. Please please tell me how it turns out. and thanks for sharing….. 🙂

      Reply
  3. Dawn @TransformedByFood says

    August 6, 2013 at 12:57 pm

    Oh, and I also just shared this recipe on Facebook! Have a great day.

    Reply
  4. Dania says

    August 30, 2013 at 10:53 am

    Hello!
    When you use coconut oil for your recipes, is it more refined so there isn’t the coconut flavor? Or so use unrefined for all? I’ve never used unrefined and I’m relatively new to coconut oil so any tips are appreciated.

    Reply
    • Katja says

      August 31, 2013 at 6:48 am

      I personally use unrefined coconut oil for everything, especially baking. I love the flavor. If I want a more neutral flavor, for cooking, I stick with ghee. I actually use coconut oil and ghee interchangeably. Some folks prefer the neutral flavor of the refined but you have to be sure that it is a quality product and not chemically refined. Read more here about that—-> http://www.foodrenegade.com/how-to-choose-a-good-coconut-oil/
      This is the brand that I am currently using—-> http://amzn.to/12X9deO 🙂 Hope that helps.

      Reply
  5. Amanda Hanson says

    May 28, 2019 at 2:14 pm

    Could I make these ahead of time and freeze them for future picnics?

    Reply
    • Katja Heino says

      June 1, 2019 at 4:55 pm

      Yes, you could totally do that! 🙂

      Reply

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