Coca Cola Chicken Legs Recipe! Plus Coca Cola Brine!

These Coca-Cola Chicken legs were a hit with the whole family! Growing up, I loved to get the drumstick, aka chicken leg, to eat! With age has come finer tastes, and while I still enjoy a good chicken leg, nowadays, I gravitate to chicken thighs. However, if you have kids in the house, the legs will be a huge hit with them! 

Now I love to use Coca-Cola to brine and flavor my meat!  Weird looks are normally the reactions that I get when I tell someone I put Coca-Cola in the brine! But if you have tough meat like a roast the soda really helps to tenderize the meat.  Plus the flavor that Coca-Cola adds a nice sweet taste to the meat as well.

Coca Cola Chicken Legs Recipe Ingredients:

• Chicken Legs– I used bone-in chicken thighs, but boneless chicken thighs would work for this as well. Any variety of chicken will work in this brine.
• Coca Cola
• Worcestershire Sauce
• Brown Sugar
• Minced Garlic
• Salt 
• Ice

How To Make Coca Cola Brine

I started by mixing up a batch of my Coca-Cola Brine.  (You can grab the recipe ->here)  I also whipped up my Coca Cola Chicken Things at the same time, the kids prefer legs so it was a win!

Be sure that you are starting with a container or bag large enough to hold the liquid and meat, as well as ice.

I did this batch with five cans of Coca-Cola. You can add more if you need to or you may need less.

Add the chicken legs to the container or bag.

Mix in the other ingredients and whisk with a whisk if you can.

Add ice to keep cold or top with more Coca Cola if your meat is not covered.

Allow the legs to brine for at least four hours.

How To Make Coca Cola Chicken Legs

I smoked up these Coca-Cola Chicken legs alongside my Coca-Cola Chicken Thighs on my Pit Boss Pro Series from Lowe’s.  Now, if you don’t have Lowes both Walmart and Amazon also carry other Pit Boss options. The Pit Boss website also has a great selection of products, but Walmart has affordable exclusives.

Remove the chicken legs from the brine and allow them to drip off excess brine.

Now, I have decided to add smoke to the chicken legs, and I used apple pellets to smoke my meat, but you could use any flavor.

Money and time-saving tips from the old lady. If you order pellets online from Walmart and spend $35, they will drop them off at your door for free!! Their everyday price on pit boss pellets is amazing, plus the expert grill brand has a great price. (see them ->here)

I put the chicken legs on my Pit Boss around 1:20 and allowed them to cold smoke for four hours.

Then I turned up the grill and let them cook!!

Don’t worry if you chose not to smoke them they will turn out great still.

Use a meat thermometer to ensure they cook to 165 degrees internal temperature.

How to store leftover Coca-Cola Chicken legs

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days after cooking.

What To Serve With Coca-Cola Chicken Thighs:

Bread: Cheesy Garlic Pull Apart Bread, Garlic Parmesan Biscuit Pull Part Bread, English Muffin Garlic Cheese Bread, Easy Cheesy Monkey Bread

Grilled Side Dishes: Cheesy Grilled Asparagus, Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms, Grilled Loaded Twice Baked Potatoes, Grilled Corn On The Cob, Grilled Zucchini, Grilled Bacon Wrapped Asparagus (see my huge list of the grilled side dishes -> here)

Other Side Dishes: Air Fryer Bacon Asparagus, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Oven Roasted Baby Potatoes, Air Fryer Brussell Sprouts, Broccoli Slaw, Cole Slaw, Tomato Caprese, Hibachi Fried Rice, Green Salad, Cornbread, White Rice, Brown Rice, Fried Rice

Recipes Using A Coca-Cola Brine:

While there is no limit to what you can make with a Coca-Cola Brine, below are my favorites. You can swap out Coca-Cola for any dark soda; this is just my go-to flavor.

• Boneless BBQ Ribs
• Cornish Game Hens
• Chicken Legs 
• Chicken Thighs
• Coca-Cola Smoked Turkey
• Pork Shoulder Roast
• Chicken Leg Quarters
• Chicken Wings
• Pork Shoulder