By April Swiger, Contributing Writer
Sweet, tangy, and a little bit of red-pepper-kick, these honey garlic drumsticks are the perfect meal for a hot summer night. I love the flavorful dark meat that chicken legs have to offer. Not only are they an incredibly frugal cut of meat, but the seasoning possibilities are near endless. Add in the simplicity of a slow cooker/Crockpot, and you have a nourishing meal for the whole family, or a crowd, without much effort.
When the weather is beautiful and warm, it’s much more difficult to give up time outside for prepping meals. We don’t have central air in our home, so turning on the oven during the summer can be a little uncomfortable. It’s easy to forget that crockpots aren’t just for hearty wintertime soups, stews, and chillies! I’ve learned that it’s a great option to beat the summer heat, and a convenient way to enjoy a delicious meal after a fun day outside.
This recipe can be easily prepared in the slow cooker crock itself, minimizing the amount of dishes needed to be washed. It’s also easy to adapt based on how much “kick” you desire. You can thicken the sauce with a little cornstarch or arrowroot powder after the chicken is cooked. Pour it over the meat, or into a bowl for dipping. You definitely don’t want to skip this part as the sauce is absolutely delectable!
More time in the sun with family and friends, and less time in your kitchen – a win all around in my book! Keep it simple and serve these drumsticks with a side salad, carrot and celery sticks, rice or quinoa, or some sautéed veggies with butter or coconut oil.
Kimi uses this (affliate links) slow cooker, and uses this clay cooker for making quinoa or rice on hot days.
Time at the stove: 10 minutes if you choose to sauté or steam some vegetables. 20 minutes if you make rice or quinoa. Or none if you serve it with cold vegetables or a salad.
Time at the oven: 5 minutes if you choose to broil the legs for a crispy skin.
Other drumstick/wing recipes:
Other crockpot recipes:
- Cook once, eat thrice with a slow cooker beef roast
- Shawarma whole chicken in the slow cooker
- Slow cooker baked pinto beans
- 2 lbs chicken legs
- ½ cup honey
- 2 Tbls coconut oil, melted
- 3 Tbls apple cider vinegar
- 3-5 cloves of garlic, minced (garlic lovers use 5!)
- 1 inch fresh ginger, grated, or about ¼ tsp dried
- ⅛-1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
- Salt and pepper
- 1 Tbls arrowroot powder or cornstarch (used at the end to thicken the sauce)
- In the crock of your slow cooker whisk together the honey, coconut oil, apple cider vinegar, minced garlic, ginger, crushed red pepper, and salt and pepper.
- Add the drumsticks to the crock, and toss them until they are fully coated with the sauce.
- Cook the drumsticks on low for 4-6 hours, or high for 2-4 hours.
- When the chicken legs are fully cooked, remove them from the crock, leaving the sauce inside.
- OPTIONAL - If desired, you can place the legs under the broiler at this point to crisp up the skin. About 5 minutes at 400 F should be sufficient.
- Ladle out ½ cup of the sauce into a small bowl, and whisk in the arrowroot powder or cornstarch (this step may not be necessary, but I find it's easier to get the lumps out in a smaller amount of sauce).
- Pour the sauce and arrowroot/cornstarch mixture back into the crock with the rest of the sauce. Whisk it in and allow it to thicken for a few minutes with the crock on 'high.'
- Serve the drumsticks with the sauce poured on top, or in a small bowl for dipping!
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Can I do this with a whole chicken? I have company coming tomorrow for dinner and I was going to roast a chicken but I don’t want to seriously heat up the house by running the oven when it is already 90 degrees outside.
Made this tonight for dinner and it was a hit! My husband does not care for chicken on the bone, but loved this! He said yep you can make that again it was great!
thank you for the great recipe my entire family enjoyed 🙂