Baked chicken legs how to#

How to prepare chicken legs for the ovenĪfter you bring the chicken closer to room temp and get it super duper dry, the only thing to do is slather it in cooking fat and seasoning and put it on a baking sheet. This is true for almost any protein – especially poultry, scallops, and wild game.

Baked chicken legs skin#

The less moisture or blood meat has on it before you cook it, the nicer your crust or crispy skin will be. You want to get that chicken as dry as you can with paper towels before you add any seasoning or fat to it. While you’re bringing your chicken to room temp, let it sit on a paper towel to start absorbing moisture. This helps promote even cooking and I find it helps with crisping skin, too.

The secret to getting chicken skin crispy is to let your meat come to room temperature for 30-45 minutes before cooking. Here’s how to get chicken skin super crispy… It says venison stock but you can also use it for chicken. This is my method for making stock in the slow cooker. If you don’t like to eat then skin or don’t want all of it, make sure to save it (and any bones) to make chicken stock/broth afterward. But you definitely want to cook your bird with the skin on due to all of the flavor and moisture it adds to the meat. If you’re not into eating chicken skin, don’t worry about eating it. and…NO!! The skin provides flavor, fat and helps seal in moisture. Do you take the skin off chicken legs before cooking? Most people have no idea what to do with them. They’re usually very economical to buy if you’re in the store. The joint between the drumstick and thigh is left intact and you usually buy them (or I’ve only ever seen them) bone-in and almost always skin on. The whole chicken leg is comprised of both the drumstick and the thigh. And honestly, not only is this 1000% times better for you (hello collagen, gelatin & healthy fat)…it’s tastier, too. I used to buy a lot of packs of chicken thighs and breasts, but now we’ll have whole wings, whole chicken legs, and whole chickens in the fridge a lot more frequently.

Because we’re buying what they have, we’ve been getting used to using all cuts of the chicken, and whole chicken legs have been our new favorite thing. We recently started buying almost all of our meat from a local farm that raises chickens, pigs, turkey and finishes cows. It yields crackling, crispy skin & juicy meat. Roasting or baking whole chicken legs in the oven couldn’t be easier with this recipe.