Buldak-Style Barbecue Chicken Drumsticks
5.0
(3)

Buldak, which translates to “fire chicken” in Korean, is a chargrilled dish identified by its bright red sauce—sweet, savory, and spicy thanks to the one-two punch of gochugaru and gochujang. You’ll often find buldak featuring boneless chicken pieces; here the buldak-inspired mixture is used as a marinade and glaze for chicken drumsticks, which are cooked low and slow on a grill until sticky and just lightly blistered in spots. If you’d rather sub in a different chicken part (like chicken thighs or breasts) or use a broken-down whole chicken instead, feel free; you’ll be licking the sauce off your fingers no matter what. Get the full menu and tips for our Korean Barbecue Disco Party here.
What you’ll need
Gochujang
$10 At Weee!
Gochugaru Chilli Flakes
$8 At Spicewalla
Soy Sauce
$15 At Amazon
Recipe information
Total Time
2 hours
Yield
4 servings
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Whisk ⅔ cup gochujang, ½ cup soy sauce, ⅓ cup brown rice vinegar or unseasoned rice vinegar, ⅓ cup sugar, ¼ cup fish sauce, ¼ cup gochugaru, ¼ cup grapeseed or vegetable oil, ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce, 3 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil, 2 Tbsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 Tbsp. plus ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt, 2 Tbsp. ground coriander, and 2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper in a small bowl to combine. Reserve and refrigerate ½ cup buldak sauce for basting.
Step 2
Place 12 large chicken drumsticks (about 3 lb.) in a large resealable plastic bag and pour in remaining buldak sauce. Seal bag and chill at least 1 hour and up to 12 hours.
Step 3
Prepare a grill for high indirect heat (for a gas grill, leave 1 or 2 burners off; for a charcoal grill, bank coals on one side); oil grate. Remove drumsticks from sauce, letting excess drip back into bag, and arrange over indirect heat; transfer sauce to a clean small bowl. Cover grill and grill drumsticks (this is a low-and-slow heat situation), brushing with reserved sauce and turning every 5 minutes or so, until sticky, well-coated, and cooked through (an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of chicken and avoiding bone should register 165°), 30–40 minutes.
Step 4
Transfer drumsticks to a platter and serve with copious amounts of steamed white rice.
Do ahead: Buldak sauce can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and chill.











