A superbly grilled drumstick is definitely one of many tastiest items of poultry. The ratio of crispy pores and skin to juicy meat is right, and drumsticks are simply plain enjoyable to eat with no knife, fork, and even plate required. For proof, take a look at your native Renaissance competition. They’re additionally budget-friendly, at roughly half the value of rooster breasts, and kid-friendly — dare to take the final drumstick on the household barbecue and you may incur the wrath of each baby in attendance.

Sadly, grilled drumsticks can go improper simply. Cooking bone-in rooster is difficult sufficient, however drumsticks pose an additional problem with their irregular form. They take perpetually to prepare dinner — as much as an hour, and generally extra — and by the point the thick a part of the drumstick is completed, the pores and skin is burnt to a crisp and the thinner meat is shriveled and dry. Even then, your fully-cooked rooster legs should still have unappealing streaks of pink and purple across the bone, which, although not a security concern, can definitely smash an urge for food.

Enter the butterflied drumstick, the answer to the burnt drumstick blues. By slicing the drumstick down the bone on one facet and splaying out the meat, you possibly can lower your cooking time in half and say goodbye to these icky purple splotches. Plus, butterflying the drumstick doubles the floor space for seasoning, making certain you get constantly phenomenal taste in each single chunk, and, after all, all that crispy pores and skin.

First, have a look at your drumstick. The pores and skin on one facet covers extra of the meat than the pores and skin on the other facet. Lay the drumstick down on a steady chopping board with the facet with much less pores and skin dealing with up. Blot it with a paper towel to take away any moisture and scale back slipping.

Subsequent, take your knife — both a boning knife or a pointy paring knife works greatest — and lower via the meat down the size of the bone. Make two extra cuts on both facet the place the meat connects to the bone, nearly such as you’re deboning a rooster thigh, however watch out to not lower via the meat to the chopping board or separate it from the tip of the bone, as it can fall off fully.

Butterflied rooster drumsticks work nice in any grilled rooster recipe, like bourbon-chile barbecue grilled rooster or char siu rooster. They prepare dinner rapidly on the grill — roughly quarter-hour — in order that they’re excellent for a weeknight dinner while you’re craving rooster however do not need to spend an hour or extra fussing with it. This rooster hack can prevent time and produce added taste to only about any rooster recipe, so long as it isn’t low and sluggish, since you want excessive warmth to get that tantalizingly crispy pores and skin. Earlier than cooking, unfold the meat out flat and season each side — which is technically the within and outdoors of the drumstick — for max taste.