Asian Chicken Drumsticks

I’m a frugal grocery shopper, so when I see chicken drumsticks on sale, I grab a lot of them. They’re much cheaper than most other parts of the chicken, but can be just as tasty. I usually just sprinkle a little seasoning salt on them and bake them, but that gets pretty boring after a while. When I saw a recipe for Crispy Asian Chicken Drumsticks at The Wicked Noodle, I was immediately inspired.

Basically, you bake the chicken at high heat so the skin gets nice and crispy, and then you pour an Asian sauce over the chicken. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions, and you have a delicious, non-boring chicken dish that hardly takes any time to prepare.

I used the concept from The Wicked Noodle, but created my own sauce. I also didn’t rub the chicken with oil in my attempt to make the recipe slightly more healthy, so it was probably slightly less crispy, but still delicious. I’ll probably try it without the skin next time to make it even healthier, because the sauce was so amazing that I’m sure the chicken would still be fabulous with just sauce and no crispy skin.

The Wicked Noodle suggests using their recipe with chicken wings to turn it into an appetizer, and I think that’s a great idea to try with my sauce recipe as well. I also think it would be good with chicken thighs or breasts, too. Heck, this sauce would make cardboard taste good! I mean, not to brag or anything, but this sauce is pretty much the best thing ever.

The kids all agreed with me that this chicken was something special. They cleaned their plates and wanted more. Cole even asked for the leftovers for lunch the next day, and usually he’s not too keen on leftovers.

Tony had a friend over for dinner unexpectedly, but luckily this recipe makes a lot, so there was plenty for everyone. Both Tony and his friend seemed to really enjoy it…I think. They didn’t really say much about it because they were busy talking, but they ate it all, so it must have been alright!

I’m always happy to find another way to prepare chicken, and this way is definitely a winner.

Ingredients

• 12 chicken drumsticks
• dash of seasoning salt
• 2 tbsp. soy sauce
• 2 tbsp. sweet & sour sauce
• 1 tbsp. BBQ sauce
• 1 tbsp. honey
• 1 tsp garlic, crushed
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil
• 1/4 cup sliced green onions
• 2 tbsp. sesame seeds

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 450F.
2. Place a cooling rack on a baking sheet and arrange chicken on the rack.
3. Sprinkle chicken with seasoning salt.
4. Place the chicken in the oven, then turn the heat down to 400F.
5. Bake for 1 hour, or until chicken has cooked through and the skin is crispy.
6. While the chicken is baking, prepare the sauce by mixing the remaining ingredients in a small bowl.
7. Take the chicken out of the oven and place the drumsticks in a serving dish.
8. Pour the sauce over the chicken, then sprinkle evenly with green onions and sesame seeds.

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