This is your classic chicken wing dinner just got even better! My butterflied chicken drumsticks are seasoned with a Chipotle BBQ Rub, grilled, and then dunked in a jalapeño lime white sauce. It is a twist on the classic Alabama White Sauce, so you’ll definitely be coming back for seconds!
Why You’ll Love Butterflied Chicken Drumsticks
This meal is easy, delicious, and kind of spicy. The Chipotle BBQ Rub has some kick. However, the Jalapeño Lime White Sauce adds some depth and brings the spice down to a medium heat.
Spicy chicken drumsticks are about to be your new best friend! This meal will be perfect for family dinners or the next time you have people over because really, who can say no to delicious chicken with the perfect sauce?
Butterflied Chicken Drumstick Ingredients
These drumsticks are quite simple to make, with only 30 minutes of prep and 45 minutes of cooking. It will result in a meal that serves 4 people!
To create your tender chicken, all you need is 2-3 lbs chicken drumsticks and a little bit of vegetable oil or olive oil.
We’ll season chicken with a Chipotle BBQ spice mixture made out of brown sugar, chipotle powder, kosher salt, garlic powder, smoked paprika, black pepper, onion powder, chili powder, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper powder.
Now for the best part: the Jalapeño Lime White Sauce. This creamy sauce is made out of mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, dijon mustard, brown sugar, diced pickled jalapeños, fresh cilantro, prepared horseradish, and lime juice. It’s the perfect pair for our butterflied chicken drumsticks!
For more sauce recipes, check out my Lobster Skewers with Bang Bang Sauce, Grilled Filets with Chile Vinegar Sauce and Zesty Lamb Kebabs with Mint Yogurt Sauce.
How to Make This Butterflied Chicken Recipe:
Begin by pulling out your cutting board and prepping your chicken drumsticks. Using a really sharp knife, slice one area on the drumstick from top to bottom all the way down to the bone.
Pull apart the two sides of the slice. Then begin separating the meat from the bone so that the chicken drumstick is flayed open. It should lay flat on your work surface. Make sure to leave some part of the meat, on the opposite side of the first cut, still connected. Repeat this for all of your drumsticks.
In a mixing bowl, mix all the ingredients for the Chipotle BBQ seasoning. Lather your chicken with oil then generously season them. Mix together thoroughly, cover and place in the fridge to marinate for at least 1 hour.
For more delicious recipes check out my Grilled Butterflied Chicken Drumsticks with Alabama White Sauce, Butterflied Peruvian Chicken Drumsticks with Green Sauce and Jalapeño Chicken Drumstick Poppers.
Grilling
Preheat a medium high heat fire or charcoal grill (around 375F) for two zone cooking.
Mix all the ingredients for your Jalapeño Lime White Sauce in a small bowl and then set it aside.
Once the fire is ready, place your butterflied chicken drumsticks over the direct heat. Then let the chicken cook for 2-3 minutes per side until they have been well charred and have crispy skin.
Once they have developed a golden brown crust, pull them over the cooler side of the grill. Now continue cooking with indirect heat, checking with an instant-read thermometer until their internal temperature reaches 170F (about 10-15 minutes).
After they hit the proper internal temperature, pull the cooked chicken off and let them rest for 1-2 minutes.
Right before serving, dip each of the chicken legs right into the Jalapeño Lime White Sauce skin side down and enjoy!
Refrigerate any leftovers in an airtight container.
To find more delicious recipes for the next time you pull out the smoker, check out my cookbooks Flavor X Fire and Food X Fire!
Needing more spice in your life? My spice line can help with that. Check them out here.
Butterflied Chicken Drumsticks with Jalapeño Lime White Sauce
Ingredients
Chicken:
- 2-3 lbs Chicken Drumsticks
- 2 tbsp Canola Oil
Chipotle BBQ Seasoning:
- 2 tbsp Brown Sugar
- 1.5 tbsp Chipotle Powder
- 1.5 tbsp Kosher Salt
- 1 tbsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tbsp Smoked Paprika
- 2 tsp Black Pepper
- 1.5 tsp Onion Powder
- 1.5 tsp Chile Powder
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- ½ tsp Cayenne
Jalapeño Lime White Sauce:
- 2 cups Mayonnaise
- 3/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- ¼ cup Dijon Mustard
- ⅛ cup Brown Sugar
- ⅛ cup Diced Pickled Jalapeños with juice
- 2 tbsp Chopped Cilantro
- 1.5 tbsp Prepared Horseradish
- 2-3 medium Limes juiced
Instructions
- Begin prepping your chicken drumsticks. Using a really sharp knife, slice one area on the drumstick from top to bottom all the way down to the bone. Pull apart the two sides of the slice and begin separating the meat from the bone so that the chicken drumstick is flayed open and flat. Make sure to leave some part of the meat, on the opposite side of the first cut, still connected. Repeat this for all of your drumsticks.
- In a bowl, mix all the ingredients for the Chipotle BBQ seasoning. Lather your chicken with oil then generously season them. Mix together thoroughly, cover and place in the fridge to marinate for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat a medium high heat fire (around 375F) for two zone cooking.
- Mix all the ingredients for your Jalapeno Lime White Sauce and set to the side.
- Once the fire is ready, place your drumsticks over the direct heat and cook them for 2-3 minutes per side until they have been charred well. Once they have developed a good crust, pull them over the cooler side of the grill and cook until they reach 170F internal (about 10-15 minutes). Once done, pull them off and let them rest for 1-2 minutes.
- Right before serving, dip each drumstick right into the Jalapeño Lime White Sauce and enjoy!
YouTube shorts brought me here. There’s a zillion cooks online but none produce what you demonstrate. As good or better than top tier restaurant food. Yes I’ve had a few fancy-pants dining and steak house experiences. Gonna try your products. Best wishes!
Something has to be way wrong with this sauce recipe. 1.5 CUPS of vinegar?
Mine is so watery this can’t be right.
Yes this is based on Alabama White Sauce which is a lot thinner then a ranch dressing style sauce. Feel free to make it thicker by using less vinegar and more mayonnaise if you desire for more of a ranch style texture.
Really want to make this but I don’t have any horseradish… Is there a substitute or can I omit it?
You can definitely omit!