These baked hen legs are simply begging to be eaten! This scrumptious recipe makes probably the most flavorful hen drumsticks with an additional crispy pores and skin that’ll make your mouth water.
Juicy Hen Drumsticks Recipe
You’ll be able to’t go flawed with straightforward baked hen legs! They’re easy to make, cook dinner rapidly, and are loaded with juicy taste.
On this recipe, we used our do-it-yourself seasoning mix that’s simply heavenly. Nonetheless, there are such a lot of methods to taste this household favourite — so be at liberty to get artistic with it!
Pair your baked hen legs with our crispy air fryer potatoes, sautéed inexperienced beans, and Caprese quinoa salad to make it a scrumptious AND nutritious meal.
Why Bake Hen Legs?
In case you’ve had our crispy baked hen thighs, baked spatchcock hen, and baked all the pieces bagel hen wings, then you realize precisely why it’s best to make these baked hen legs!
Right here’s the deal: hen legs have darkish meat, which suggests they’ll come out extra flavorful and tender as they’ve a better fats content material in comparison with the chicken of a hen breast.
However don’t let this fattier meat scare you away! They’re wealthy in vitamins like niacin, selenium, and nutritional vitamins and minerals comparable to vitamin B6, iron, zinc, pantothenic acid, and phosphorus.
PS: Take a look at our Grilled Hen Legs or Smoked Hen Legs for extra hen leg recipes!
What sort of hen legs ought to I purchase?
We all the time suggest going natural/all-natural and free-range when attainable. Sure, they price slightly bit extra, however I promise you the flavour and texture will make up for it! Plus, on the whole, hen legs are one of many extra cheap elements of the hen (compared to the breast), so going natural isn’t really that dangerous cost-wise.
A few of our favourite humane hen manufacturers embody:
- Simply BARE Hen
- Gold’n Plump Hen
- 365 (Complete Meals model)
This grilled hen leg recipe requires 1 lb. of hen legs, and you’ll possible get round 6 medium/massive hen legs per pound. As all the time, you possibly can simply double and even triple this recipe by multiplying it by 2 or 3.
Easy Substances Wanted
- Do-it-yourself hen seasoning: on this baked hen legs recipe, we’re utilizing our all-purpose hen seasoning. You can too marinate your hen legs as an alternative.
- Hen legs: hen legs are the star of the present. You’ll want round 1.25 lbs. for this recipe.
- Olive oil: olive oil is used to assist the dry rub persist with the hen legs.
The BEST All-Goal Hen Seasoning
Each hen leg deserves a yummy in my tummy seasoning to make it additional crunchy and crispy on the surface and oh-so flavorful. This hen seasoning is made with fairly widespread dried herbs and spices that you simply possible have available already. Right here is all the pieces you want:
- Garlic powder
- Chili powder
- Cumin
- Dried thyme
- Floor mustard
- Dried basil
- Floor pepper
- Pink pepper flakes
- Sea salt
- Paprika
- Brown sugar
Different Strategies of Cooking
Need scrumptious hen legs, however don’t wish to use the oven? Attempt both of those hen legs recipes:
How one can Make Oven-Baked Hen Drumsticks
PREHEAT OVEN
Preheat the oven to 425ºF and set a wire rack on high of a baking sheet. Spray the wire rack with non-stick cooking spray.
Professional Tip: Generally, among the hen seasonings fall onto the baking sheet and burn. To keep away from burning, pour ¼ cup of water onto the baking sheet.
SEASON CHICKEN
Subsequent, pour the all-purpose hen seasoning onto a plate and roll every hen leg within the seasoning combination till it’s utterly coated in spices.
DRIZZLE + BAKE
Switch the hen legs to the wire rack and drizzle the hen legs with olive oil. Bake the hen legs for 40 minutes, flipping midway by means of the cooking time.
SERVE + ENJOY
Take away the hen from the oven when the inside temperature is 165ºF and let the hen relaxation for 10 minutes earlier than serving. Get pleasure from your tasty baked hen legs!
Attempt it!
Thermoworks Thermapen
We swear by utilizing a meat thermometer when cooking any minimize of meat. The Thermapen is our go-to meat thermometer that works each time.
Taste Variations
SEASONINGS
Whereas we expect our all-purpose hen seasoning is epic, you should use varied do-it-yourself seasonings, too. Use round 2-3 tablespoons per pound. Listed below are another concepts:
MARINADES
Need to use a hen marinade as an alternative? Take a look at a few of our favourite straightforward hen marinades under.
High Ideas for Oven Baked Hen Legs
- Line your baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray for much less mess and straightforward clean-up.
- We prefer to bake our hen legs at 425°F to get the crispiest skins. Be sure to flip your hen midway so that each facet is good and crispy!
- The easiest way to inform in case your hen is finished cooking is by utilizing an immediate meat thermometer. Cooked hen ought to learn at 165°F. However with legs, you possibly can cook dinner them a bit longer when you’d relatively not have pink spots by the bone. Both approach, your hen legs will nonetheless be juicy and tender!
Storage
Let the hen legs cool utterly. Then, retailer crispy hen legs in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 3-5 days.
Freezer Directions
After Cooked: Let crispy hen legs cool utterly. Then, switch them to a freezer-safe gallon-size bag and take away as a lot air as attainable. Seal and freeze for as much as 3 months.
Earlier than Cooked: Place all uncooked substances right into a freezer-safe gallon-size bag. Take away as a lot air as attainable and seal. Freeze for as much as 3 months.
If you end up prepared for cooking, enable the frozen hen thighs to thaw absolutely earlier than baking.
