How to cook chicken drumsticks in the oven
A juicy and tender baked chicken legs recipe with simple interesting seasoning. Check out the tips, a video and pictures.
Whenever I cook chicken legs my kids always fight over who gets the extra share. Whether it is baked or roasted or gravied, chicken drumsticks always have a special place in our taste buds. I know you wouldn’t disagree with me.
What is a perfectly cooked roasted chicken?
The meat should be cooked thoroughly but tenderly. Chicken with bones scores here as the meat attached to the bones tends to cook soft compared to the boneless breast piece. Also, bone-in chicken retains the necessary moisture and gives perfectly juicier cooked meat easily.
The meat should fall off from the bone and there shouldn’t be any red spots. Red spots or streaks mean undercooked legs.
Do baking makes chicken dry?
Honestly, I was not a big fan of cooking chicken in the oven as I believed there are more chances of it getting dried up so easily. I have tried multiple times with different temperatures and seasonings just to get it right.
Finally got it right at 425F for 40 to 45 minutes. Believe me, this setting works out well and won’t dry out the drumsticks.
Try this Garlic chicken roast for a different version of a flavorful chicken drumstick recipe.
Chicken with skin or without skin?
Though I prefer legs without skin and used the same in this recipe, you can use skin-on chicken drumsticks for extra crispy baked legs.
Don’t forget to make slits before marinating. This makes the legs more tender and soft while helping the heat reach the bones.
When the legs are done?
No pink flesh! The meat will be white without red streaks.
You can use a thermometer to check the inner temperature of the meat. Reaching 165 degrees in 40 to 45 minutes makes perfectly baked, roast chicken drumsticks. This high temperature helps the outer layer to get roasted nicely with slight charring!!
Another way to check is to just poke the meat with a knife. If the juice runs clear your chicken is ready!!!
Baked chicken legs for a low carb dinner:
Serve this baked chicken drumsticks with Avocado salad or Roasted peanut salad and a soup of your choice(carrot ginger soup is the best!).
The next option is legs with simple steamed veggies and chips as a side is a good spread too.
Watch the video uploaded in the recipe card and please subscribe if you like to see more videos from my channel.
Baked chicken legs | Oven-roasted chicken drumsticks
Equipment
- Baking sheet
- Aluminum foil
Ingredients
- 6 Chicken drumsticks legs
Seasoning:
- 2 tbsp Oil
- 1 tsp Salt Table salt
- 1 tsp Chilli powder
- 1 tsp Black Pepper powder
- 1 tsp Italian mixed herbs
- ½ Lemon
Optional:
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
Instructions
Preparation:
- Clean chicken legs and dry them well with tissue paper.
Prepare marinade:
- In a small bowl, take 2tbsp of olive oil(or coconut oil).
- Add 1tsp of chilli powder(or cayenne pepper), 1tsp of salt, 1tsp of black pepper powder and 1tsp of Italian mixed herbs. The Italian mixed herbs usually contain dried thyme, basil, oregano, rosemary and sage.
- Also, add the juice of half a lemon. Mix everything and set aside.
Bake chicken legs:
- Preheat the oven to 425F(220C) temperature.
- Make slits in the dried chicken drumsticks.
- Apply the marinade with a brush all over the legs. Keep the legs marinated for 30mins to 1hr.
- Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Arrange the legs in the tray and bake for 40 to 45 minutes. You can flip the legs halfway through baking.
- Ideally, there should be any red spots on the bone and the meat should fall off easily while slicing. If you see any red spots bake five more minutes.
Video
Notes
1) You can use the same recipe for baking chicken legs with skin on them. The skin actually helps to get the more roasted effect.
2) Bake veggies if you wish, along with legs halfway through.
3) Ofcourse feel free to add a choice of your spice in the seasoning mix. Few good choices are garlic powder, onion powder and ketchup.
Nutrition
Preparation:
- Clean chicken legs and dry them well with tissue paper. I use skinless chicken drumsticks.
Prepare marinade:
- In a small bowl, take 2tbsp of olive oil(or coconut oil).
- Add 1tsp of chilli powder(or cayenne pepper), 1tsp of salt, 1tsp of black pepper powder and 1tsp of Italian mixed herbs. The Italian mixed herbs usually contain dried thyme, basil, oregano, rosemary and sage.
- Also, add the juice of half a lemon. Mix everything and set aside.
Bake chicken legs:
- Preheat the oven to 425F(220C) temperature.
- Make slits in the dried chicken drumsticks.
- Apply the marinade with a brush all over the legs. Keep the legs marinated for 30mins to 1hr.
- Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Arrange the legs in the tray and bake for 40 to 45 minutes. You can flip the legs halfway through baking.
- Ideally, there should be no red spots on the bone and the meat should fall off easily while slicing. If you see any red spots bake five more minutes.
Tips:
1) You can use the same recipe for baking chicken legs with skin on them. The skin actually helps to get a more roasted effect.
2) Bake veggies if you wish, along with legs halfway through.
3) Ofcourse feel free to add a choice of your spice in the seasoning mix. Few good choices are garlic powder, onion powder and ketchup.
