Your family will love these Perfect Oven-Fried Chicken Drumsticks! Coated with crunchy panko and full of flavor, they're a perfect home-cooked meal!
Mr. Dreamboat and I both grew up eating Shake 'n Bake Chicken and have fond memories of it. Both of my kids like chicken drumsticks, no matter how they're prepared. So naturally, I've been making various versions of homemade breaded chicken drumsticks over the years, but until recently, I never got it quite right.
I recently realized that the biggest mistake I had been making was not cooking the chicken long enough. I was cooking it only until it was "safe", which for chicken is 165°F. For chicken breasts, this is what you want to aim for, but it isn't enough for drumsticks. While I was afraid of overcooking the chicken, thinking it would become dry and stringy, the drumsticks were actually slightly undercooked - pink and kind of rubbery.
Making perfectly cooked drumsticks or chicken thighs requires them to be cooked to at least 175°F. This ensures that the meat is tender, juicy, and no longer an unappetizing pink color. When the chicken is breaded, like these Perfect Oven-Fried Chicken Drumsticks, the coating is golden brown and perfectly crisp. Keep reading to learn how to make it for your family.
How to Make Oven-Fried Chicken Drumsticks
Making oven-fried chicken starts with mixing up the breadcrumb mixture. I like to use panko, because I find it to be the crunchiest. I also add a little flour just to act as a bit of a binder for the spices, which include garlic and onion powder, paprika, celery salt, dried basil, and black pepper, along with kosher salt or MSG-salt to enhance the savory flavor of the chicken.
The next step is to find a way to get the breading to adhere to the chicken. I wanted to avoid the traditional method of coating the chicken in flour, then eggs, then breading, which I find tedious and messy.
Not wanting to end up with soggy chicken skin, I quickly ruled out brushing the chicken with water, which is recommended on store-bought Shake 'N Bake boxes. I considered brushing the chicken with oil, but ultimately decided to try mayonnaise for added flavor, which was very successful. Just make sure to eliminate all unnecessary moisture from the chicken first by patting it dry with clean paper towels.
Toss one piece of mayonnaise-coated chicken at a time in the bowl of the panko mixture until it's fully coated. Use your hands to gently press the crumbs onto the chicken, if necessary (use food-safe nitrile gloves if you're squeamish about touching raw chicken).
Place the panko-coated chicken pieces onto a wire rack over a baking pan (line the baking pan with aluminum foil for the easiest clean-up) and bake until the chicken reaches 175°F, about 40-45 minutes.
Make-Ahead Instructions
The panko mixture can be made ahead of time and kept in an airtight container or zipper bag.
You can also coat the chicken in the panko mixture ahead of time by completing the recipe through the end of step 5. Keep the breaded chicken pieces on the wire rack in the baking pan in the fridge, uncovered, until ready to cook, up to about 4 hours. Follow step 6 in the recipe to bake.
Oven-Fried Chicken Drumsticks Ingredients
- Panko - or use gluten-free panko if you need your chicken to be gluten-free
- All-purpose flour - or use your favorite all-purpose gluten-free flour blend to make your chicken gluten-free
- Kosher salt - or use MSG-salt to enhance the savory flavor of the chicken
- Celery salt - note that celery seed and celery salt are two different things. Celery salt is basically celery-flavored salt (sometimes made from mixing ground celery seed with salt). You can find celery salt in the spice aisle. Don't substitute celery seed for celery salt in this recipe.
- Garlic powder or granulated garlic
- Onion powder or granulated onion
- Paprika - I recommend using regular (sweet or hot, depending on your preferences) paprika, not smoked paprika for this recipe.
- Dried basil
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Chicken drumsticks - or you can use other cuts of chicken. See below for cooking guidelines.
- Mayonnaise - I used regular mayonnaise, but I think light mayonnaise would work here too.
Can I use a different cut of chicken to make oven-fried chicken?
Yes - Feel free to use this Oven-Fried Chicken Drumsticks recipe to make a different cut (or cuts) of chicken. Follow the recipe as written, altering only the baking time. Use the following guidelines to make other cuts of chicken:
Bake chicken breasts to an internal temperature of 165°F. This should take 17-20 minutes at 425°F.
Bake chicken tenders to an internal temperature of 165°F. This should take 8-10 minutes at 425°F.
Bake bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs to an internal temperature of 175°F. This should take 40-45 minutes at 425°F.
Bake boneless skinless chicken thighs to an internal temperature of 175°F. This should take about 20-25 minutes at 425°F.
Want more chicken recipes?
Oven-Fried Chicken Drumsticks Nutrition Notes
The nutrition information in the recipe below is for 2 chicken drumsticks.
This recipe is dairy-free as written. To make your oven-fried chicken gluten-free, replace the panko with gluten-free panko and the all-purpose flour with a gluten-free all-purpose flour blend.
Serve this chicken with potatoes or the grain of your choice and a green salad or other vegetable side to make a complete meal.
Oven-Fried Chicken Drumsticks
Equipment
- Silicone brush
- Wire Rack
Ingredients
- 1 cup panko
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt or MSG-salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon celery salt
- ¼ teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 8-10 chicken drumsticks or use bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
- 1 Tablespoon mayonnaise
Instructions
- Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with aluminum foil (this is optional, but it makes cleaning up much easier) and fitting an oven-safe cooling rack inside it. Heat the oven to 425°F (use the convection setting if possible).
- Stir together 1 cup panko, ¼ cup all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon celery salt, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon onion powder, ½ teaspoon paprika, ¼ teaspoon dried basil, and ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Prepare 8-10 chicken drumsticks by patting them all dry with a clean paper towel and cutting off any large pieces of excess skin or fat, if present.
- Place 1 Tablespoon mayonnaise in a small bowl. Using a silicone basting brush, brush the mayonnaise all over each chicken drumstick. Set the coated chicken on the prepared baking sheet.
- Place one piece of chicken into the bowl with the panko mixture. Gently toss the chicken in the mixture, pressing the panko onto the chicken to adhere it to the mayonnaise. Once coated, return the chicken to the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining chicken.
- Bake the chicken until the breading is golden brown and the meat measures 175-180°F (note that chicken is safe to eat at 165°F, but the meat on drumsticks and chicken thighs can remain unpleasantly pink at rubbery at that point) on an instant-read thermometer, about 40-45 minutes.
Nutrition
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