Easy baked chicken drumsticks! Doesn’t that just sound so tempting? I love having recipes that are not complicated and quick to execute in my kitchen. Let’s not forget the fact that they should pack a mean flavour punch. My baked chicken drumsticks tick all the boxes and what seals the deal for me everytime is the sticky, sweet and sour sauce that I apply on top of them.
As I have already mentioned before in my Kenyan kung pao chicken inspired dish, the ever tasty kienyeji chicken wet fry, and let’s not forget the succulent crispy chicken wings that are enough to make you burst out in a chorus – I LOVE CHICKEN! Enough of my reminiscing, by now I’m sure you get the picture.
I love brining my chicken before baking, grilling or barbecuing it on charcoal. Most of the time I make a basic brine of sugar and salt dissolved in water, while other times I go the whole nine yards and add whole spices. It totally depends on my mood and, of course, the recipe. So why do I like brining, you may ask. Simple. The meat gets seasoned right to the bone, no risk of having bland chicken.
Make sure to line your baking tray with aluminum foil for easy clean up because the sauce has sugar in it and it tends to stick making it hard to clean out later. And, remember, it is good to err on the side of caution. Why I’m I saying this? Every oven is different, use the time I have given and temperature as a guideline. Always ensure that your chicken drumsticks are never pink or that juices run clear before serving it.
Ingredients
- 7 medium sized chicken drumsticks
- 2 Tbs Royco
- 1 Tbs corn starch
- Pinch of rosemary leaves
- 1 Tbs curry powder
- 1.5 Tbs red chili powder
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 30g unsalted butter
Ingredients for the sauce:
- 2 Tbs brown sugar
- 2 Tbs dark soy sauce
- 2 Tbs apple cider vinegar
- 50ml water
- 2 Tbs tomato sauce
- 1 Tbs chili sauce of your choice
Directions
- Mix all your dry spices together in a container.
- Place the drumsticks inside, cover container and shake to ensure even and light coating all over.
- Place on a wire rack and place in refrigerator for about 2 hours for the dry ingredients to stick on the drumsticks.
- Put all the ingredients for the sauce in a pan and (stirring continuously) cook on moderate heat until all the sugar melts and the sauce become slightly sticky.
- Pre heat your oven to 220C or 450F.
- Line your baking tray with aluminum foil, place butter inside and place in the oven to melt.
- Arrange your drumsticks in one layer on the melted butter.
- Bake for 25 minutes and then turn the chicken drumsticks over and bake for a further 10 minutes.
- Pull out and apply the sauce on both sides of the drumsticks and return to the oven to bake for 5 minutes in order for the sauce to stick.
- Repeat the same process two more times and make sure that during each interval you bake the drumsticks for 5 minutes.
- Serve while still warm and apply the sauce at the bottom of the baking tray on the drumsticks for extra flavour.
very delicious indeed. thanks.
Thank you, and yes it is delicious. Tell me how it turns out if you do decide to try it out.