Chicken Drumstick Recipes
Sticky-glazed, air-fried, parmesan-crusted, and baked chicken drumsticks the Pepper community makes for weeknight dinners that don't cost twelve dollars a pound.
★ Dinner
DinnerAir Fryer BBQ Chicken Drumsticks
Crispy, sticky Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Drumsticks are a quick and easy dinner option. Chicken legs are seasoned, basted with BBQ sauce, and air fried to tender perfection, making them perfect for busy weeknights.
Dustin CashIngredients
- 6 pieces, approximately 1 ½ to 2 pounds chicken drumsticks
- 2 teaspoons olive or avocado oil
- ¼ cup BBQ sauce
- BBQ Spice Mix
Instructions
- 1Preheat air fryer to 380°F for 5 minutes.
- 2Pat chicken dry, place in a large bowl, drizzle with oil, and toss to coat.
- 3Sprinkle seasoning mix over chicken and toss until well coated.
- 4Spritz air fryer basket with nonstick cooking spray.
- 5Place chicken in the basket in a single layer and cook for 10 minutes.
- 6Flip chicken with tongs and cook for an additional 8 minutes.
- 7Remove basket, baste chicken with BBQ sauce on all sides, and cook for 3-5 minutes until internal temperature reaches 165°F and sauce is caramelized.
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Open in Pepper →Why Drumsticks Are the Best Cut for a Budget Dinner
Drumsticks stay juicy no matter how long they stay in the oven — the built-in bone and dark meat forgive every rookie mistake breast meat won't.
Cooks on Pepper season the whole tray on Sunday and pull out four for a Wednesday dinner — one seasoning batch, three different meals depending on the sauce.
The recipes here are the community's drumstick rotation — the sticky, crunchy, budget-friendly dinners that make it hard to justify boneless chicken breast again.
Quick Tips
- 1
Dry the skin
Twenty minutes uncovered in the fridge before cooking crisps the skin more than any oil coating.
- 2
High heat then low
Roast at 425°F for the first 15 minutes for skin, then drop to 375°F to finish without drying.
- 3
Sauce twice
Brush once at the halfway mark, once in the last two minutes — one glaze that caramelizes, one that stays glossy.
- 4
175°F, not 165°F
Drumsticks are dark meat — the connective tissue only melts at higher temps, and they stay juicier at 175.
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