
I know there are many recipes for grilled chicken leg quarters and I have tried many of them.
Slowly I have tweaked this recipe and all my friends and family who tried this recipe told me that they loved it.
TIP: One of the things that helped me grill tender meat is to use baking soda to make meat tender. You can use this also for this recipe.
Grilled Chicken Leg Quarters

Knowing how to grill chicken leg quarters can make the difference between serving mouth watering, moist or dried out and hard to to swallow chicken leg quarters.
- Grill
- Pair Of Tongs
- 2 tbsp Salt
- 1.5 tbsp Sage
- 1.5 tbsp Thyme
- 1/2 tbsp Black pepper
- 1/2 tbsp Sugar
- 3/4 tbsp Smoked paprika powder
- 2 tbsp Onion powder
- 4 tbsp Olive oil (Or oil of your choice.)
Wash of chicken leg quarters of under cold running water.
Pat chicken leg quarters dry with paper towel.
Rub chicken leg quarters with some olive oil
Rub chicken leg quarters with spice rub. Also under the skin!
Place chicken leg quarters in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes
In the mean time pre-heat grill to 350 Degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees Celsius)
Set up grill for 2 zone grilling
Place chicken leg quarters skin down on the indirect heat side of the grill
Grill for about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Check internal temperature and make sure it is 175 Fahrenheit (80 degrees Celsius)
For a crispy skin move chicken leg quarters to the charcoal side.
Grill for a short time and flip ones.
Remove chicken leg quarters from grill and let them rest for 5 minutes
Chicken leg quarters are a meat that can be prepped and grilled in a short period of time and everyone likes a well grilled chicken leg quarter.
If you follow my recipe you will serve the best chicken leg quarters.
Chicken Leg Quarter Spice Rub
For the seasoning I use the following:
2 tbsp. salt
1.5 tbsp sage
1.5 tbsp thyme
½ tbsp black pepper
1/2 tbsp sugar
3/4 tbsp paprika
2 tbsp onion powder
Prepare the chicken leg quarters by rinsing them of under cold running water. After that pat them dry with a paper towel.
How To Season Chicken Leg Quarters
Now you have 2 options on how to season chicken leg quarters. I have used both and prefer the first one.
1: Mix all spices in the olive oil and rub chicken leg quarters with mixture.
2: Rub chicken leg quarters with olive oil and after that sprinkle spice rub on it.
The reason I prefer the first one is that the spices are more evenly divided over the whole chicken leg quarters and seem to stick better.
How To Grill Chicken Leg Quarters
I have ruined many pieces of chicken meat by grilling them direct over the heat source. I have better results with the indirect grilling method.
This means that you have the heat on one side of the grill and the meat on the other side. (you can read here how to use and set up indirect grilling)
Pre heat the grill to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 Celsius)
Now place the chicken leg quarters on the cooler side of the grill and place it with the skin down.
How Long To Grill Chicken Leg Quarters
Grill for about 45 minutes or until the internal temperature is 175 degrees Fahrenheit (80 degrees Celsius)
This is a question I heard a lot and although although it depends on how thick the leg quarters are. My 45 minutes is a nice average.
For a crispy skin you can move the chicken leg quarters to the hot side of the grill above the charcoal, and grill them for a minute and flip them ones.
Now remove the chicken leg quarters from the grill and let them rest for about 5 minutes before serving.
There you have it! Perfect grilled tender, moist and flavorful chicken leg quarters.
I just found that some people call them chicken hindquarters.
I have many more grilled chicken recipes that you can use to impress your friends and family.
One other tip I can give you is to have a look at my chicken leg quarter marinade that I use when I have more prep time available.