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two cooked bone-in chicken drumsticks with browned skin and a thin sticky red-brown barbecue glaze beside roasted sweet potato wedges on an ordinary plate, with no garnish
Rachel Kim

Sheet Pan BBQ Chicken

Drumsticks can handle enough oven time to develop browned skin before barbecue sauce goes on, which gives this tray a different texture from glazed boneless chicken pieces. Sweet potato wedges roast beside them with just oil and salt, and you should check the wedges when you turn the chicken. If they're tender early, move them to a clean plate while the drumsticks finish rather than letting their thin tips blacken during the final sticky-sauce stage.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 55 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 4
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 8 small bone-in skin-on chicken drumsticks about 2 1/2 lb total
  • 1 lb sweet potatoes cut into 1/2-inch wedges
  • 2 tbsp neutral oil divided
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 3/4 tsp fine salt divided
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 cup thick barbecue sauce

Method
 

  1. Heat the oven to 425°F and line an 18-by-13-inch rimmed sheet pan with foil. Pat drumsticks dry and coat with 1 tablespoon oil, paprika, garlic powder, pepper and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
  2. Toss sweet potato wedges with remaining oil and salt. Arrange chicken and potatoes in separate areas of the pan in one layer.
  3. Roast for 25 minutes, then turn the drumsticks and potato wedges. Roast for 10 minutes more and transfer any fully tender potatoes to a clean plate.
  4. Brush drumsticks with barbecue sauce and roast for 8 to 12 minutes until the sauce is tacky and chicken reaches at least 165°F, preferably 175 to 185°F for tender dark meat.
  5. Rest for 5 minutes, returning any reserved potatoes to a clean open section of the pan for the last 2 minutes of cooking if they need warming. Serve 2 drumsticks with one-quarter of the potatoes per portion.