by Matthew Robinson | Sep 28, 2015 | Blog, Technique | 1 comment
How To Cook Chicken Legs
I have already said that I think chicken breasts are the tofu of the meat world. There is lots you can do to make them tasty, but they just are not on the top of the list of great eats, ok eats sure, but great, no. A few steps up on the list though are the parts south of the breast – the legs and thighs. As a kid the tastiness of the dark meat on a chicken escaped me. However, my father hardly touched achicken breast unless the other chicken parts were missing. As with many (but not all) things, a parent can be right. Dark meat chicken is just tastier and a much better choice, especially the legs. It might take a certain maturity to get over the weird sinewy parts, more a leg problem than a thigh problem, but that seems like a small price to pay for tastiness. The legs are much more fun than the thighs, too. Chicken legs are finger foods meant to be eaten in sort of a caveman fashion with a lot of finger licking.
Making cheap cuts of meat sing is the height of culinary art and chicken legs are cheap. At about a buck and a half per pound you can feed plenty of folks for not much. For about 3 bucks you can acquire 8 drumsticks which is plenty for 4. To make them sing with flavor doesn’t cost much either. Even if you just salt and pepper them well, and roast them or grill them, they are pretty tasty. The addition of a little spice rub won’t break the bank. Brown sugar and some chilli powder or paprika is a great rub base to start with. With a small side salad or vegetable and some rice it is a great meal for cheap. Here is a recipe for sweet and spicy chicken legs.
Sweet and Spicy Chicken Legs
2015-09-04 04:47:59
Serves 4
Delicious chicken legs rubbed with spices and brown sugar and then roasted.
Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
35 min
Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
35 min
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size
428g
Servings
4
Amount Per Serving
Calories 806
Calories from Fat 283
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 31g
48%
Saturated Fat 8g
42%
Trans Fat 0g
Polyunsaturated Fat 7g
Monounsaturated Fat 12g
Cholesterol 509mg
170%
Sodium 442mg
18%
Total Carbohydrates 29g
10%
Dietary Fiber 1g
2%
Sugars 27g
Protein 97g
Vitamin A
13%
Vitamin C
2%
Calcium
8%
Iron
27%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Does this look wrong?
Ingredients
- 8 chicken legs
- 1/2 cup of light brown sugar
- 1 tbsp of chipotle chilli powder
- 1/2 tsp of garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp of onion powder
- 1/2 tsp of celery seed
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Pat the chicken dry.
- In a small bowl, mix the sugar, chilli powder, garlic powder, onion powder and celery seed together mixing well.
- Season the chicken legs with salt and pepper.
- Place the chicken legs in an large bowl and rub with the sugar mixture until well coated.
- Place the chicken legs into a baking dish that can hold them all. Sprinkle any remaining sugar mixture over the chicken.
- Bake the chicken 35-40 minutes until they are cooked through and an instant read thermometer reads 165F.
- Turn on the oven broiler. Carefully spoon the liquor that has formed on the bottom of the baking dish over the chicken legs and allow it to caramelize under the broiler. Repeat 3 or 4 times until the legs are nice and coated.
- Remove from the oven. Serve hot.
- Serve the remaining liquid from the bottom of the baking dish as extra sauce.
Notes
- If you don't want the chicken legs to be spicy, replace the chipotle chilli powder with ancho chilli powder or smoked paprika. Either will be equally delicious.
- Chicken thigh can be used instead of legs.
By Matthew Robinson
beta
calories
806
fat
31g
protein
97g
carbs
29g
more
The Culinary Exchange http://www.theculinaryexchange.com/
I Hope you enjoy!
Keep Eating! Keep Innovating!
How do you make your chicken legs? Do you have a recipe to share? Let us know all about it in the comments or on Facebook.
The Culinary Exchange can also be found on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest,Google+ and YouTube.
Come On! Follow Along!
Myorkaon March 18, 2020 at 1:15 pm
Im a single mother of two toddlers and we all know how picky they can be so this sweet chicken is just right im gonna try them all
Submit a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
