At around €2.50 for a pack of ten, chicken drumsticks are a super economical source of protein in a midweek meal.
More importantly, if you know how to dress them up, they’re absolutely delicious and relatively healthy too, provided you serve them with a light side like couscous, baked potato or a salad.
Here are three of our favourite recipes, all of which work a treat as a party platter too.
Baked Buttermilk Drumsticks
Ingredients
12 chicken drumsticks
2 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, bruised and skins removed
1 tablespoon crushed peppercorns
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon maple syrup
Directions
- Place the chicken drumsticks in a large freezer bag, and add the buttermilk and 1/4 cup of oil. Add the bruised garlic cloves to the bag with the crushed peppercorns and salt. Sprinkle in the ground cumin and finally add the maple syrup, and then squish everything in the freezer bag around to mix the marinade and coat the chicken.2. Leave the buttermilk marinated chicken in the fridge ideally overnight or out of the fridge for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours.3. Preheat the oven to 210C. Take the chicken pieces out of the bag shaking off the excess marinade, and then arrange them in a roasting tin lined with foil.4. Drizzle over the 2 remaining tablespoons of oil, and then roast in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until brown, even scorched in parts, and juicily cooked through.
Recipe: Nigella Lawson
Spicy Harissa Drumsticks
- Preheat the oven to 160C
- Put the chicken in the roasting bag and add the paste and lemon juice. Seal the bag and ‘massage’ the meat so that it is well covered in the paste. Either marinate in the fridge overnight or for an hour at room temperature.
- Place the bagged chicken on a tray and position either in the middle or bottom self of the oven (the bag expands with steam),
- Cook for 25 minutes then take out of the oven and carefully pierce the bag to release the steam.
- Transfer the chicken and sauce onto the tray and roast for 5 minutes to crisp the skin (optional). Make sure the chicken is thoroughly cooked before serving.
Honey Garlic Sriracha Drumsticks
Ingredients:
12 Chicken drumsticks
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup honey
2 TB fresh garlic, crushed
1 TB thick soy sauce
1 TB hot Sriracha sauce
Directions:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 200C. Spray a suitable oven dish with cooking oil (must be large enough for chicken to be arranged in a single layer)
2. Place chicken in the dish, season with salt and pepper and bake for 30 minutes, turning over half way.
3. Combine honey, garlic, soy sauce and sriracha in a small bowl.
4. Remove the half cooked Chicken from the oven – baste well with the sauce and return to the oven for another 20 minutes – basting and turning over regularly.
Recipe and image: Withablast.net
