Drumettes are a perfect one bite, no mess appetizer. It’s a favorite of mine to serve at dinner parties because it’s inexpensive, recipes are abundant and they don’t require utensils. They are really easy to cook and the spice rub can be made up of whatever is in your spice drawer and fridge. You can bake em, put them on the bbq, cook them in a skillet, toss em all in the deep fryer, the possibilities are endless to make a tasty juicy bite of chicken.
Okay so what the heck is a drumette? Let’s talk chicken anatomy. It’s a part of the chicken wing, however, because it closely resembles a chicken leg aka drumstick it’s called a drumette aka baby chicken leg. I buy drumettes in 4lb bags and stick them in the freezer until I need them. It’s always cheaper to buy in bulk and most supermarkets offer them for less than a dollar a pound.
(Image credit: Lindsey Ribe/Christine Gallary)
Let’s start cooking! After I get the bag of chicken thawed out I dump them into a really large bowl and run them under cool water to give them a good rinse and then pat them dry with paper towels.
Next I’m going to get my spice rub together. Grab a big ziplock bag and put all the spices in it. Give it a good shake to mix all the spices together.
I used a bit of Melissa’s Produce Hatch Chile powder, olive oil, garlic powder, crushed black pepper, coarse sea salt. There’s some other seasonings in there as well. I literally just started grabbing spices out of my spice drawer.
Put all the drumettes into the ziplock bag with the spice rub and shake em up. Make sure to ziplock the ziplock!
Look! Everything is coated so evenly
Take a large baking sheet and cover it with foil and then lay all the chicken out in a single layer.
I always like to top off my drumettes with a little extra heat (thank you Melissa’s Produce) and maybe a little more pepper.
In the oven they go at a temp of 350 for one hour
OMG I had to throw this picture in. This is my spice drawer at the moment. For the longest time I was trying to figure out how to store my spices so I could access them without having to store them on the counter and I didn’t want to put them in the cupboard because I always lose a few in the back. WALLAH!!! They all fit standing up in the drawer (with a few exceptions) and I put colorful little circle labels on top labeling what’s inside. All spices tucked away in one area, all easily accessible and not on my counter. KITCHEN SCORE!
Okay back to the chicken ha ha ha. The hour is up and my drumettes are done! The result is a super tasty no mess appetizer. I would love some feedback on your favorite chicken rubs. Please leave a comment and let’s share some recipes.
