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two cooked bone-in chicken drumsticks with dark red-brown barbecue glaze and a few lightly charred edges on an ordinary plate, with a small spoonful of thick sauce beside them and no beans or garnish
Andre Lewis

Crockpot BBQ Chicken Drumsticks

Drumsticks give crockpot barbecue chicken a bone-in shape that survives the trip to the broiler. The slow cooker makes the meat tender, while the short oven finish gives the sauce something to cling to. Make the vinegar-tomato sauce before it touches raw chicken and reserve a clean portion for brushing, then reduce the cooked juices separately; using that thin liquid straight from the crock would wet the skin just as you're trying to brown it.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 6 hours 30 minutes
Total Time 6 hours 45 minutes
Servings: 6
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 12 chicken drumsticks about 4 lb total
  • 1 cup ketchup
  • 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp fine salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tbsp neutral oil for sheet pan

Method
 

  1. Whisk ketchup, vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire, paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a bowl. Reserve 1/3 cup in a clean covered container in the refrigerator before any sauce touches raw chicken.
  2. Arrange drumsticks in a 6-quart slow cooker and coat with the remaining sauce. Cover and cook on low for 5 to 6 hours until the thickest meat reaches 165°F and is tender around the bone.
  3. Heat the broiler and lightly oil a foil-lined rimmed sheet pan. Transfer drumsticks to the pan with space between them and brush with the reserved clean sauce.
  4. Broil 6 inches from the heat for 3 to 4 minutes, turn carefully and broil for 2 to 3 minutes more until the glaze is tacky and lightly browned. Watch continuously so the sugar does not burn.
  5. Skim the cooking juices, pour into a saucepan and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes until reduced to a thicker sauce. Serve 2 drumsticks per person with the reduced sauce spooned alongside.