I do not own a bbq. To some, the very idea of being a mom of a teenager, person who loves to cook AND the food editor of a national website and not owning a bbq sounds strange, but it's true. We did have one years ago, but the poor thing died and we never bothered to have it replaced. These drumsticks are not even cooked on a bbq, but rather, in your oven. They drenched in a delicious homemade bbq sauce though, which is gloriously sticky, gooey, and will require a good stack of napkins at the table.
We adore this recipe. Not only is it incredibly easy and kid friendly, but it's so yummy that it just screams summer. Serve these with potato salad on the side and you are going to have one happy family! Make sure to read the recipe through entirely before you start so that you see my food safety notes at the bottom about chicken and sauces.
Ingredients:
18 chicken drumsticks, with skin
1/4 onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup ketchup (you could use low sodium)
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
4 Tbsp vinegar (less to taste-start with two and add more if you need it)
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup molasses
1-4 Tbsp Abodo sauce, to taste (the sauce that chipotle peppers are packed in. You can buy it by itself too if you can find it in the Mexican food section.)
Pre-heat the oven to 450 F. Line a roasting pan with foil and place the drumsticks on the pan. Roast for about 20 minutes, turning half way through. Meanwhile, add a little oil to a fry pan and saute the garlic and onion until they are soft. Add the other ingredients and stir well, then bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and allow it to simmer for about 15 minutes. When the drumsticks are finished roasting and are cooked through, turn the oven to broil and move the rack a bit closer to the element, then watch the drumsticks carefully and turn them while the skin gets browned and crispy. Tongs are really handy for this. When the skin is browned and crispy, remove the chicken from the oven. Using the tongs, dip each drumstick in the sauce so to coat it completely, and put back on the broiling pan. Once all the drumsticks have been dunked, turn the oven on to 350 F and put the chicken back in the oven. At this point, the sugar in the sauce will start to bubble and caramelize somewhat-I left the drumsticks in the oven for about 10 minutes, slathering them with more sauce if I felt they needed it and watching carefully so that they didn't burn. ** See food safe note below about the sauce**
Makes 18 chicken drumsticks, enough to serve 8 people
Adapted From The Pioneer Woman
** Food safety note: Once you have dunked your chicken in the sauce, you can NOT serve the sauce nor should you serve the chicken with a final slathering of it unless you've put the chicken under the broiler for a bit until it bubbles for awhile. If you wish to have extra sauce on the side, remove some from the pan BEFORE YOU DUNK THE CHICKEN. **
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