Air Fryer Sweet & Smoky BBQ Chicken Drumsticks

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A brown sugar and smoked paprika rub turns cheap drumsticks into sticky, mahogany-skinned barbecue chicken in under half an hour — all in one air fryer basket, no grill, no sauce pot, no oven. Eight pantry things, two flips, and dinner is done.

Ingredients

• 8 chicken drumsticks (about 2 lb / 900 g)
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil

• 2 tbsp light brown sugar, packed
• 1 tbsp smoked paprika
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Instructions

1. Pat the drumsticks very dry with paper towels — wet skin steams instead of crisping. In a large bowl, stir together the brown sugar, smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt, black pepper and cayenne, breaking up any lumps of sugar with your fingers.
2. Add the drumsticks and the oil to the bowl and toss with your hands until every piece is slicked and evenly coated in rub, working it under the loose skin where you can.
3. Preheat the air fryer to 380°F (195°C) for 3 minutes. Arrange the drumsticks in the basket in a single layer, thick ends toward the outside, with at least a finger's width between them — cook in two batches if your basket is small. Air fry 12 minutes.
4. Turn each drumstick with tongs and air fry another 10–13 minutes, until the skin is deep mahogany and a thermometer in the thickest part (not touching bone) reads 190–200°F (88–93°C). Drumsticks are best well past 165°F — that's when the connective tissue goes tender.
5. Lift onto a plate and rest 5 minutes; the glaze firms up as it cools. Scrape any caramelised drippings from the basket over the top and serve straight from the plate.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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