I LOVE honey, garlicky chicken! There is just something about the sweet, sticky, garlicky combination that is soooo good! I had to make a side of basmati rice to drizzle the sauce over…. I may have even drizzled it over my steamed broccoli. Don’t judge me…I can’t help it!
I also love using drumsticks for a dinner like this. Why?? They are super cheap & very flavourful. Even better, drumsticks are made of dark meat which actually tends to contain more zinc, riboflavin, niacin, thiamin, vitamins B6 and B12, amino acids, iron than white meat. The skin is actually the part that gives these cuts their bad rep so if you are trying to keep this recipe the healthiest it can be then simply remove the skin. I decided to leave the skin on tonight.
I was really craving a sticky chicken that wasn’t jam-packed with fat and refined sugar so I decided to keep it simple with honey, garlic, low sodium soy sauce and sesame oil and then jazzed it up a bit with some honey mustard, red pepper flakes and grated ginger.
Another fun thing about drumsticks are that kids tend to really like them because they get to eat with their hands. Who doesn’t like that part, right? This recipe is also a good one for our kiddos because they really love any honey + chicken combo.
Honey Garlic Sticky Chicken Drumsticks
This serves 2 adults & 2 small children. If you have a hungry hubby, older kids, or enjoy leftovers just double the recipe.I will be doubling it next time!
Ingredients:
- 1/2 tsp of sesame seed oil
- 3 cloves of grated garlic
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/3 cup of soy sauce
- 2 tbsp honey mustard
- 2-3 tsp of grated ginger
- 1/4 tsp hot pepper flakes
- 1 dozen drumsticks
Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl.
Simple right!?
Now season chicken with S&P and pour the marinade over the chicken and use your hands to make sure that each piece of chicken is covered with the marinade.
Cover with plastic wrap and pop it in the fridge so the marinade can chill out with the drumsticks. You could do this step in the morning or the night before and all your prep would be done for dinner…..or if you are not the greatest pre-meal planner ( like myself) you can stick it in the fridge while you preheat the oven, clean up, and make the kids lunches for school the next day (1 hour). Either works!
Whenever you are ready to start cooking, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. I like the meat to cook low and slow to give it a more “fall off the bone” texture.
Using a tong, start popping each drumstick in an oven safe skillet,and brown each side on medium low heat. This should only take a couple minutes per side (approx). PLEASE don’t forget to save all the extra marinade remaining in the bowl! We need all that goodness for baking and creating a yummy sauce!
After our chicken is browned on both sides we simply pour all the leftover marinade over the chicken and pop it into the oven. Let cook for 35-40 minutes, flipping the pieces once halfway through cooking. Don’t forget that cooking times will vary depending on weight of your meat or even the type of heat you are cooking with so always have a meat thermometer handy!
I wanted to crisp up the skin and caramelize the sugars a little more so after 35 minutes I increased the oven temp to 375 degrees for 10 minutes, flipping each drumstick once halfway through ( 5 minute per side).
This recipe would also likely work great for a weekday-on-the-run meal because it would be easy to throw all ingredients in the slow cooker. You don’t even have to crisp the skin in that case, especially if you aren’t cooking with skin, It could be ready to eat right out of the slow cooker! I’ll try this recipe out in the slow cooker as well and let you know how it turns out. My kids love sticky chicken so they won’t complain!
Anywho…….I feel like rice or quinoa or some sort of grain mix is a must when choosing a side for this meal because the sauce is too good to eat with only the chicken! Like I said, I may have added it to my rice, and my steamed broccoli and I’m not ashamed. ; )
I decided to add some sesame seeds to the chicken before I served it but I didn’t have any so I used hemp hearts! The nuttiness and crunch worked really well with it and I’m probably going to stick with hemp hearts on meals like this from now on. Why not get an extra punch from a nutritional superstar like hemp hearts? Sesame seeds would also be great, Tony prefers them plain and that’s fine too but if you have any hemp hearts in your house I would recommend you add a sprinkle!
Enjoy!
Happy Hump Day!
