Armed Polite Society
Main Forums => The Mess Hall => Topic started by: brimic on January 15, 2019, 08:50:41 AM
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My wife and I are trying to cut way back on our food expenditures, so we are trying recipes using less expensive alternatives to things.
Chicken legs = $0.80/lb
I tried this this weekend: https://www.thespruceeats.com/sticky-crockpot-chicken-drumsticks-recipe-479528
Not good. Spices were overwhelming and not balanced. The chicken on the inside with no spices on it tasted good though.
Any suggestions in this area? I generally want to cook them skinless if possible.
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I like to roast drumsticks, then coat them in a wing sauce of choice. I call them T-Rex wings.
Or pressure cook them and use the meat and stock to make chicken and noodles.
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For me roasting is always the way to go with drumsticks, be it chicken or turkey.
I prefer the slow roasted approach. I hate with a passion the texture/taste of quick barely cooked dark meat chicken that seems to be the current trend. I much prefer the slower roasted flavor like you'll find in a decent rotisserie chicken and such.
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Some type of baked, crusted chicken recipe. Remember Shake 'N Bake (the food, not the movie quote)? A lot of recipes out there for that. SWMBO makes a damn good baked chicken breast that is essentially butter, crushed Ritz crackers, and Emeril's Essence seasoning.
You might look into thighs rather than drumsticks. Drums are cheap but you're paying for a lot of non-edible content (bones). Thighs are sometimes a better deal in terms of net edible meat per purchased pound.
Brad
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"Drums are cheap but you're paying for a lot of non-edible content (bones)."
You get your money's worth out of the legs when you boil the bones to make a kick ass stock.
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https://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=496610
Ingredients
6 chicken legs (more or less as needed)
20 garlic cloves (skins left on)
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/3 cup chicken broth
3 tablespoons oil
Mix the spices, coat the legs with oil and rub the spices all over them. Toss them in the crockpot, toss in the garlic cloves (you don't necessarily need that many) and pour in the chicken broth. Cook on low for 8 hours.
Last time I bought chicken legs (it's been a while) we tried this one. (Or something like it. It looks right, but I can't be sure.)
Super easy, barely an inconvenience and it tastes great, too. Little bit of spice and some good garlic flavor.
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I also see thighs for dirt cheap, my complex recipe is to cover them with Baby Ray's and toss them in the oven.
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I have an anodized heavy aluminum skillet (Calphalon.) A really well-seasoned iron skillet would probably work as well. I cook chicken thighs in it, in their own fat that renders out, until cooked all the way thru and the skin is crispy. They cook faster if you put a lid on the skillet for part of the time, but finish with it uncovered.
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Even easier that mak's. Salt (I prefer kosher), whatever herbs/spices you have and feel like using. Make a mix that's, I dunno, 33-50% salt, the rest whatever proportions of herbs/spices sounds good to you (or 100% salt, or almost all salt with some pepper). Sprinkle a dusting over the drums, turn them and dust again so all sides are coated. Experiment to see how much salt you like (guessing I use about 1% or maybe a little less of meat weight). Let it sit with the salt for however long you can stand, a few seconds or up to a full day (though for more than a couple hours put in the fridge). Put in a 300F oven on convection, or 350F without the fan. Turn once when the skin is getting crispy so the bottom side can also crisp up. Maybe 45 minutes total. Serve with mashed taters, or rice or bread or salad or whatever you want.
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I also see thighs for dirt cheap, my complex recipe is to cover them with Baby Ray's and toss them in the oven.
I think that might be my next experiment.