Easy sweet and sour baked chicken drumsticks!
Looking for an idea for baked chicken drumsticks? Stop! I have an exceptional recipe for you—delicious, juicy chicken drumsticks in a unique, mega-tasty sweet and sour sauce. The dish looks exceptional, and it’s really easy to prepare. The sauce is made with balsamic vinegar, honey, and dark soy sauce, and I must say, this combination creates a fantastic flavor that you should enjoy.
Ingredients
- For a minimum of 6, up to a maximum of 12 chicken drumsticks
Ingredients for the marinade/sauce:
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar (125 ml)
- 1/2 cup liquid honey (125 ml)
- 1/4 cup dark soy sauce (you can replace it with regular soy sauce, but then the entire marinade will be slightly saltier; you can also opt for regular soy sauce with reduced salt content)
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- sesame seeds optional
Instructions
- First, prepare the marinade. In a bowl, pour balsamic vinegar, liquid honey, dark soy sauce, and granulated garlic. Mix well to ensure all ingredients are combined. Transfer approximately 1/4 of the prepared marinade into a separate container and store it in the refrigerator.
- Pour the prepared marinade over the chicken drumsticks, ensuring that as much marinade as possible coats the meat. Place the container with the drumsticks and marinade in the refrigerator for approximately 2 to 4 hours. After taking them out of the fridge, transfer the drumsticks to a large baking dish along with the marinade. Arrange the drumsticks in the dish, making sure they are not overlapping.
- Preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius (425 degrees Fahrenheit), with both the top and bottom heat on. Once the oven is heated, transfer the baking dish with the drumsticks to the oven and bake for the first 25 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the sauce by heating the reserved 1/4 of the marinade in a saucepan for about 15 minutes. After this time, the marinade/sauce should thicken.
- After 25 minutes, open the oven and carefully, using kitchen gloves and preferably tongs, turn the drumsticks to the other side and pour the heated sauce over them. Put them back in the oven for an additional 15 minutes. After this time, a total of 40 minutes, the drumsticks should be well-baked. Sometimes, if the drumsticks are exceptionally large, they may need to stay in the oven for an extra 5 minutes.
- Finally, you can sprinkle sesame seeds over the drumsticks. If serving with rice, you can drizzle the remaining sauce from baking over it. That’s it. Enjoy!