Get a Leg Up for Game Day

Super Bowl is synonymous with food.  And football, but I don’t write about football.

 

Granted, some foods are just traditional; like pizza, chili and Buffalo chicken wings. But I’m going to be bold and suggest we ditch the chicken wings this year and swap in Crispy Oven Baked Legs.

 

(Oooooh! She’s gone nuts. She’s a radical agitator)

 

 

CRISPY OVEN BAKED CHICKEN LEGS?

Stay with me on this . . .

 

To illustrate my point, who wants to nibble on a chicken wing when they can take a big juicy bite out of a chicken leg?

 

Also, chicken legs are much less expensive than wings.

 

In addition, the ratio of meat versus bone is way in your favor compared to wings. After all, if I’m going to get messy eating something, I want a bigger reward.

 

Okay, by now you see where I’m going and it’s going to be delicious. The question is – are you going to be a rebel with me? 

 

Now, you get to decide what team you’re on. Namely, are you a rebel traditionalist or a total rebel?

 

In either case, I’ve got you covered.

 

Now, If you’re a rebel traditionalist, you’ll love Buffalo sauce on your drumsticks because it hits all the familiar Buffalo wing flavor notes.

 

By the way – If you like Buffalo Sauce you’ll love Buffalo Chicken Pull Apart Bread

 

However, if you’re a total rebel, let’s upgrade the Buffalo sauce to Brown Sugar Sriracha sauce

 

Sriracha is a popular Asian hot sauce made from chili paste, vinegar and a bunch of other goodies and can be found in the Asian section of the market.

 

Generally speaking, these Brown Sugar Sriracha Chicken Legs are amazingly good. They’re sweet, spicy, sticky and crunchy. They’re all the things!

 

Either way, we need to start with awesome crispy oven baked chicken legs.  You can’t just slap some sauce on a greasy limp chicken drumstick and expect to compete with wings.

The secret is coating the chicken with corn starch for crispy skin without breading or frying. Also, this helps the sauce to adhere. 

 

 

Crispy Oven Baked Chicken Legs

 

What You’ll Need:

 

• 4-5 pounds of chicken drumsticks – a max pack
• Salt and pepper
• 2 Tablespoons cornstarch

 

Here’s How:

 

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Next, line a baking sheet with foil, and top it with wire racks to keep the chicken up off the baking sheet. For easy cleaning, spray the racks with cooking spray.
2. Now to prepare the chicken. First, using paper towels, dry each chicken leg and place in a large bowl. Season liberally with salt and pepper and don’t be shy!
3. Second, sprinkle the cornstarch over the top of the pieces, then get in there with your hands and stir them around until the all the drumsticks are evenly coated in cornstarch.
4. Next, we place the coated chicken legs on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 50 minutes to one hour, until they reach 175°F degrees or until the surface is golden brown and crispy.
5. Occasionally, some white patches of corn starch may remain after cooking. That’s totally fine and not problem because they’re going to be covered in sauce.
6. Meanwhile; pick a sauce team!  Both sauces are simple to make and yield 2/3 cup of sauce. That’s plenty to coat 4 to 5 pounds of drumsticks.

 

 

Spicy Buffalo Sauce

 

What You’ll Need:

 

• ⅓ cup butter
• 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
•  ⅓ cup hot wing sauce – any brand

 

Here’s How:

 

First, melt the butter in a small sauce pan along with the garlic. Next, when the garlic begins to sizzle add the hot sauce and stir. Set the sauce aside.

 

 

Brown Sugar Sriracha Sauce

 

What You’ll Need:

 

• ⅓ cup butter
• 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
• ⅓ cup Sriracha

 

 

Here’s How:

 

First, combine the Sriracha, butter, and brown sugar over low heat in a small sauce pan. Next, heat, stirring until the butter is melted and the sauce is smooth. Set aside.

 

 

The moment the magic happens!

 

Finally, when the chicken comes out of the oven, and as soon as it’s cool enough to handle, add all the legs to a large enough bowl and cover with the sauce.

 

 

 

Subsequently, toss the drumsticks in the spicy sauce until all the pieces are well coated. Use your hands and don’t be afraid to get messy. In any event, just before you lick your fingers remember these sauces are spicy hot!

 

 

Serve with celery, carrots, perhaps some bleu cheese or ranch dipping sauce and lots and lots of napkins, or maybe a drop cloth and for goodness sake – don’t wear white!

 

To summarize; this Super Bowl, whether your team wins or not, spicy chicken legs are a sure winner.

 

 

Because there are two truths I know for sure: people love football and people love Buffalo and Sriracha flavored food.

 

 

 

Update – I made these again for a bunch of friends but this time I made a double batch of legs and sauced half with Buffalo and half with Brown Sugar Sriracha and asked for opinions. Both flavors were enthusiastically  devoured and this was the verdict: 

YES. Very much YES!

In either case, these recipes are not too spicy for the kids even with the dipping sauce, but they are complex and balanced enough to impress the foodies and still just spicy enough to satisfy the chili heads.

 

At any rate, as it turns out, everyone loves both sauces. 

 

 

You may also like:  The Best Un-fried Chicken     Grilled Hawaiian Chicken with Coconut Pineapple Rice