When daylight fades and your wash station is basically a jug of water on the picnic table, dinner needs to be low-mess and hard to mess up. Campfire Rosemary-Dijon Chicken Drumsticks solve that with a make-ahead marinade you can shake up at home and pour into a zip-top bag, keeping your camp kit free of extra bowls and sticky spoons. At the fire, you’re working with simple tools—tongs, a grate over coals (or a camp grill), and a clean spot to rest the chicken.
Wait until the flames calm down and you’ve got a steady bed of coals, then roast the drumsticks over moderate heat, turning as needed to dodge hot spots. The skin browns up with crisp edges, while the meat stays juicy and forgiving even if someone wanders off to grab headlamps. Dijon adds a sharp, savory tang, and the rosemary-garlic scent does the heavy lifting in the “everyone, come eat” department.
It’s an easy dinner to scale for a family or a group—just add more drumsticks and rotate them around the grate. Serve with foil-packet potatoes, grilled corn, or whatever salad survived the cooler ride, and you’ll be eating well without a pile of dishes to scrub in the dark.
Campfire Rosemary-Dijon Chicken Drumsticks
Equipment
- Grill grate
- Tongs
- Bowl
- Knife
- Cutting board
Ingredients
- 8 chicken drumsticks
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary or 2 tsp dried
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix olive oil, Dijon, rosemary, garlic, salt, and pepper.
- Add drumsticks, toss to coat well. Marinate at least 30 minutes or up to 8 hours (cooler).
- Arrange drumsticks on a grill grate over medium campfire coals.
- Grill, turning every 5-7 minutes, until skin is crisp and deep golden and juices run clear, about 25-30 minutes.
- Serve hot.