Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Honey Lime Drumsticks

For some reason both of us grew up avoiding dark meat like the plague. We were both "that person" at the BBQ, insisting on getting the BBQ'd chicken breast, using phrases like "I only eat white meat, its healthier for you" or "dark meat doesn't taste as good". If you'd ask were we learned to avoid dark meat, it was just one of those things that everyone knew. In retrospect, everyone was probably looking at use like we were crazy, but I don't think we're alone here. Its really more of a bigger issue than white or dark, this whole country has a really awkward relationship with food. Its like being 13 again, with the braces and the acne and the awkwardness and instead of asking out that certain girl or talking to the cute boy, you sit and doodle on your Trapper Keeper. Then the one time you go over there, your mouth starts moving and god only knows whats coming out, but its not what you had in mind. America's relationship with food is kinda like that, everything is low fat no carb sugar free bland blech blah, and we're still unhealthy. Chicken is one of those great foods thats gotten the raw deal on this exchange. Somewhere along the line dark meat got branded as unhealthy, something about more fat than white meat. In reality, dark meat is AWESOME and is just as healthy for you as white meat, if not more so. Actually, dark meat is unhealthy if you binge on a giant box of 20 deep fried drum sticks from KFC, but if you chowed down on 20 deep fried white meat chicken strips, your probably in the same boat. Dark meat has more good for you stuff than its white counterpart like more zinc, iron, vitamins A K B6 B 12 and stuff we can't even pronounce (pantothenic acid, whatever that is). Oh and did we mention, dark meat is super affordable? 5 good sized drumsticks (enough for the two of us) for $1.67. Thats a meal of steal right there. So why have we been on a big boycott of dark meat all these years? Who knows, probably because everyone else was doing it, but now, that boycott is over! Expect to see more and more delicious drumsticks and grilled wings from us!








Honey Lime Drumsticks
What You Will Need

4-5 chicken drumsticks
2 Tbs canola oil
6 Tbs soy sauce
7 Tbs honey
The juice of 3 limes
The zest of 1 lime
2 garlic cloves (crushed)
1 Tbs brown sugar
2 Tbs chili garlic sauce

In a large bowl whisk all of the ingredients together and marinade the drumsticks for about 1 hour or more.  

Once you are ready to cook, remove the chicken and pour the marinade into a small sauce pot and simmer, reduce into a nice glaze and set aside.  

You can grill these drumsticks outside which is what we had planned but decided to use our grill pan stove top instead (mostly because we were starving and didn't want to wait for a grill to heat up!)

Grill on medium heat, making sure not to burn the skins, brush the drumsticks on every side multiple times so the chicken has a nice thick glaze. Cook thoroughly and serve with a few lime wedges.  

32 comments:

  1. those little leggers look just fine - know they tasted great ... did you pan fry or grill them?

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  2. Hey Drick, they were in fact tasty little leggies!! We were originally going to grill them outside, but we were both so hungry that we didn't want to wait for the grill to heat up. So instead we turned to our trusty little cast iron grill pan. True, not as wonderful as outside grilling, but not bad in a pinch!

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  3. These look fabulous! Like a sticky mess of tastyness :)

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  4. hey the marinade is so rich i like it! you just gave me a wonderful idea for this weekend :)

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  5. Your marinade looks like something I would make--this looks great.

    I have to admit that even though I eat dark meat, it's still not my favorite. I always go for the breast or wings. It's not the lack of flavor it's all the veins/fibers that are in the dark meat. This is so mouthwatering, though. I love Sambal!

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  6. Your drums look amazing. Love the combination of sugars, soy sauce and lime, sounds wonderful.

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  8. Great marinade! I love how it gives the chicken such beautiful caramelization around the edges. Must try this next time I'm in the mood for some chicken on the grill.

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  9. These look really good. I don't know where I picked up the white meat thing as both were present growing up. I just know that I've preferred it since I was little even when I had the choice. Probably textural. You make me think I'll have to re-give dark meat a try sometime soon tho.

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  10. Now that is an incredible marinade. I can just imagine it with pork tenderloin and chicken breasts. Thank you for sharing!!!

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  11. I had the same aversion to dark meat. Craig is the one that turned me on to dark meat. I plan on using this marinade on some chicken thighs. Is it wrong that I want to take a bath in this stuff?

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  12. Simply delicious!

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  13. Anything with lime is wonderful. I'll have to try this recipe!

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  14. Those drumsticks looks so mouthwatering, and I can appreciate your honest and insightful comments about America's eating habits! Chicken has gotten a raw deal, I actually feel like eggs have as well, and it is important that we work to change that image.

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  15. Besides the taste, I like drumsticks and thighs because they are "instant portion control" -- and because breasts, now, are so huge, sometimes approaching a pound apiece.

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  16. This recipe sounds delicious and makes me regret the yogurt I brought in for lunch! The drumsticks look perfectly cooked and marinated.

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  17. This looks so delicious! Gorgeous photos, by the way.

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  18. I have always preferred dark meat, thighs and drumsticks are my first choice....there is so much more flavor and they are never dry like white meat! your sauce is just so flavorful, and the color of your finished chicken is just screaming flavor!! wow, it looks so darn good!!

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  19. Beautiful pictures! And I'm with Chef Dennis on this one. Grew up preferring dark meat. You couldn't get anyone in the house to eat white meat. Maybe it's because we've overcooked it and should've called it chicken jerky. But, like you, I've learned to appreciate the other side. One simple way I found is to salt and pepper it and then steam it until done. Sounds odd but I've never had dry chicken using that method.

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  20. Amen! i actually hate white meat. So dry uggh. Everything in moderation is my mantra although by the looks of it, I'd be seriously challenged not to have seconds!

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  21. Nice looking blog, I see quite a few things I really like, thanks for sharing:-)

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  22. Oh my gosh! Yum!!! I will definitely try these!

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  23. these look beautiful! Nice post!

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  24. lovely looks delicious
    congrats on being on top 9

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  25. Congrats on being Top 9!
    Becky@bakingandcooking

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  26. I couldn't agree more - dark meat rocks! I've always thought so, and it's always my first pick :) This marinade looks SOOO good - I'll definitely try it over the weekend. There are a bunch of chicken legs just screaming for it in my fridge :)

    Congratulations on a wonderful Top 9!

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  27. Oh, man, those pictures are mouth watering!

    I'm in the same boat - when I was growing up somewhere along the line I started to "only like breasts and wings". In retrospect, I think it had to do with the biggest piece of chicken, and the smallest - that way I could have more and more, because they were so small! What can I say, I was (and still am) a gluttonous little Chaos stirrer.

    I find that things that need to be basted or marinated do best with dark meat. Teriyaki? Thighs. Chicken Diablo? Thighs. There's just something.. more palatable about dark meat in a sauce, I dunno.

    As for as the heat in this dish - which I'm fully planning to make! - I do have a picky eater and someone who really can't stand a lot of heat. How hot is this? Would the dish be ruined completely without all the heat? Like maybe 1/2 TB instead of 2 TB?

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  28. @stirringchaos: This dish wasn't really spicy at all! All the honey and lime really takes over. I don't think taking out the chili garlic paste would ruin anything. I tasted my marinade multiple times before I dumped the chicken in as well. Good Luck!

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  29. Boy do those ever look good!!! I just love wings, as does my hubby. I just happen to have a jar of sambal in the refrigerator taking up space. Thanks for the inspiration.

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  30. Honey and lime sounds like a delicious marinade!

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  31. I love that this recipe is for 4-5 drumsticks. I usually only find ones that are for a ridiculously large amount of chicken and I end up throwing most of it away. Thanks for sharing!

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  32. These look amazing!! but like stirringchaos my family can't eat spicy things. actually we all loooove spicy things but now we have some major dumb stomach issues. >( bah! I will try this without the spicy stuff and see what happens. Thanks!

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