Baked Chicken Drumstick Recipe

Seasoning for Crispy Baked Chicken Drumsticks

Here’s what you need to make these drumsticks. Baking powder is the secret ingredient that makes the skin crispy. Meanwhile flour is used to bulk out the seasoning mix so we can coat the drumsticks all over.

· Spice mix – A combination of smoked or plain paprika, onion and garlic powder. These 3 spices are a classic,

· Flour – This is used to bulk out the seasoning so we can coat the chicken legs evenly all over. Bulking out the seasoning with flour means we can coat the legs evenly all over.

How to make Crispy Baked Chicken Drumsticks

The trick to crispy baked drumsticks is to stretch the skin over the drumsticks as much as possible (because flesh won’t go crisp!) and then coat the skin evenly all over with the seasoned flour.

1. Seasoning – Mix the spices and flour together in a bowl. Use a shallow bowl as it’s easier coat the chicken legs in the seasoning.

2. Coat drumsticks in oil – The oil makes the seasoning stick to the chicken as well as helping the skin go nice and brown as it bakes. It’s easiest to rub it all over using your hands to ensure each drumstick is well-coated.

3. Stretch skin – The more skin that stays put over the flesh, the crispier your drumsticks! So pull and stretch the skin to cover the flesh as best you can. Some of the skin will still shrink back as it bakes anyway, but if you skip this step totally you’ll end up with a mostly naked drumstick

4. Coat legs in the seasoning – Dip, turn, use fingers for sprinkling on top as needed. Then shake off the excess, otherwise you end up with quite a thick layer of pasty-ish coating on the chicken legs.

5. Rack on tray – Place the legs on a rack on a foil-lined tray. Why foil-lined? It makes your clean up life easier. Why rack? For crispy undersides! Don’t have a rack? Line with paper instead and turn the drumsticks halfway, and expect to add an extra 5 to 10 minutes to the bake time to make the top crispy.

6. Spray with oil – Then spray the legs with oil. Be generous! It makes them more crispy and golden, almost like a frying effect!

7. Bake for 30 minutes at 200°C/390°F (180°C fan), rotating the tray once to help them cook evenly. Then crank the oven up to 220°C/430°C (200°C fan) and bake for a further 15 minutes until they’re crisp and golden. You might find you need an extra 5 minutes to get the skin crispy, depending on how evenly the heat is distributed in your oven.

HOW TO DO IT

INGREDIENTS:

• 12 chicken drumsticks (Note 1)

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• Oil spray

SEASONING:

• 3 tsp garlic powder

• 3 tsp onion powder

• 5 tsp smoked paprika

• 2 tsp black pepper

• 1 1/2 tsp cooking/kosher salt

• 4 1/2 tbsp plain/all-purpose flour

• 3 tsp baking powder

INSTRUCTIONS

Preparation: Preheat the oven to 200°C/390°F (180°C fan-forced). Line a tray with foil then place a rack on the tray (makes the underside of the drumsticks crispier, Note 4).

• Seasoning: Mix the Seasoning ingredients in a shallow bowl.

• Coat in oil: Toss the drumsticks in the olive oil. Stretch and pull the skin on each drumsticks to cover as much of the flesh as possible.

• Coat in seasoning: Coat a drumstick in the Seasoning then shake the excess off well. Place on the rack. Repeat with remaining drumsticks.

• Spray with oil: Spray the legs generously with oil.

• Bake for 30 minutes, rotating the tray halfway through. Increase the oven to 220°C / 430°F (200°C fan) then bake for a further 15 minutes or until the skin is crispy. Enjoy!

Once they’re ready, serve them up straight away while they’re nice and hot! Visit any Morton Williams for all of your ingredients!