Oven-Fried Chicken Legs

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These Oven-Fried chicken legs are tender and juicy with a deliciously crispy skin. An easy homemade BBQ sauce adds sticky goodness to these drumsticks that are baked in the oven instead of grilled. Serve with mashed potatoes or seasoned rice and drizzle the BBQ sauce over top.

Did you know it’s possible to make tender, juicy baked BBQ chicken legs at home? These drumsticks are coated in a barbecue sauce and baked in the oven for the perfect crispy skin (that doesn’t require a deep fryer or grill).

These drumsticks will rival your favorite chicken restaurant — and the best part is they only require five minutes of active hands-on time!

How to Make Oven-Fried Chicken Legs?

Homemade baked drumsticks are super easy to make with chicken drumsticks and a homemade barbecue sauce. You’ll find the full step-by-step recipe below, but here’s what you can expect:

Start by making the barbecue sauce, with ketchup, vinegar, water, brown sugar, butter, salt, Worcestershire sauce, dry mustard, and chili powder. Coat the drumsticks with the sauce, then bake them until the juices run clear and the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.

Do You Put Barbecue Sauce on Before or After Baking?

This recipe calls for you to add the barbecue sauce before baking, but there’s nothing stopping you from whipping up a second batch of sauce to add to the drumsticks after.

Should You Bake BBQ Drumsticks Covered or Uncovered?

For perfectly tender, juicy chicken drumsticks, you should bake them covered with foil — just like in this recipe. You can take the foil off for the last few minutes of the bake to let the skin crisp up, though.

How Long Do You Bake BBQ Chicken Legs?

Baking time for drumsticks will vary depending on the size of them. This recipe calls for an hour of baking time. But, you’ll know when the drumsticks are done with the juices run clear and a digital thermometer reads 165 degrees F when inserted near the bone.

How to Store Baked BBQ Chicken Legs

Store leftover drumsticks in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days. Reheat in the oven until warmed through — or eat them cold!

How to Freeze Baked BBQ Chicken Legs

Freeze cooked chicken legs in a zip-top freezer bag labeled with the date for up to three months. Thaw in the fridge overnight.

Prep Time: 5 mins

Cook Time: 1 hr

Total Time: 1 hr 5 mins

Servings: 3

Yield: 6 drumsticks

INGREDIENTS:

  • 6 chicken drumsticks
  • ⅓ cup ketchup
  • ⅓ cup white vinegar
  • ½ cup water, or more to taste (Optional)
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • 4 teaspoons butter, cut into small chunks
  • 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
  • 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce, or to taste
  • 2 teaspoons dry mustard
  • 2 teaspoons chili powder, or to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Assemble ingredients, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C), and place drumsticks in a 7×11-inch baking dish.
  2. Whisk ketchup, vinegar, water, brown sugar, butter, salt, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, and chili powder together in a bowl; pour mixture over drumsticks. Cover with aluminum foil.
  3. Bake in the preheated oven until no longer pink at the bone and the juices run clear, about 1 hour, turning chicken about halfway through.
  4. An instant-read thermometer inserted near the bone should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).
  5. Serve hot and enjoy!

Nutritional Info:

Servings Per Recipe: 3

Calories 443 Total Fat 22g 28%Saturated Fat 8g 39%Cholesterol 142mg 47%Sodium 2072mg 90%Total Carbohydrate 21g 8%Dietary Fiber 1g 3%Total Sugars 18gProtein 39gVitamin C 6mg 29%Calcium 49mg 4%Iron 3mg 15%Potassium 506mg 11

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