Baked chicken legs

One of my favorite recipes for baked chicken legs is the one my mom used to make when we were kids. The crust on the skin of the chicken, which formed after about 60 minutes was just completely irresistible. Follow this recipe to see how I do it.

It’s a lot easier to just make a thin sliced boneless chicken on a grill these days. Usually all I do is marinate the chicken for 40-60 minutes in a mixture of:

  • olive oil with a bit of garlic
  • soy sauce
  • sesame seeds
  • plenty of salt and pepper
  • thai spicy sauce

It really is that easy – I like to have the salt and pepper fresh ground, not the blend type you buy in the container.

Some people like to have a bun with their chicken, but I much prefer some fresh organic salad. Usually I mix arugula with some mushrooms, add peppers for the color and olive oil.

I suggest you buy pre-packaged whole chickens instead of boneless, skinless chicken breasts. It’s more economical, you get more meals and you can use the bones to make your own chicken stock for soup based recipes and more.

You can experiment with different breadings for everything from chicken to vegetables to appetizers. To add an extra dimension of flavor to breaded foods, try using coatings other than the usual breadcrumbs or panko. Get creative! Cereals like corn flakes, toasted o’s, and crispy rice work well too. Don’t forget to try crushed crackers and cookies as well.

For the best texture and mouth-feel, always slice meats against the grain. This method cuts through the muscle fibers and results in a more tender texture, whereas meat sliced with the grain can be chewy or overly tough. Beef or pork roasts, steaks, loins and chops tend to benefit most from this treatment, although it’s a good method for cutting turkey and chicken, as well.

When roasting a large chicken or a turkey, prevent over-browning of the skin by loosely tenting aluminum foil over the bird for part of the cooking time. You can remove the foil during the last 20 minutes or half hour of cooking for a perfectly browned bird that isn’t overly crispy.

If you know of a better baked chicken legs recipe, please share it in the comments bellow. Perhaps I can improve on my own.