OK, it’s almost done so I’ll just go over what I’ve done so far:
First I pulled the drumsticks out of the freezer and I was immediately struck by how small they were. I knew I could put away more than two but I figured if I fucked up I didn’t want to waste a lot of them. So I spent about five minutes stabbing at the chicken with a small, unserrated knife (some sort of peeling knife?) and slamming the entire package against the side of the counter. Finally the two pieces came loose and I popped 'em in the microwave.
I pressed the defrost button on my microwave and watched as the words “.5” appeared on the screen. Having no idea what that meant (now that I think about it I think it might have been asking me to input the weight of the food I was defrosting) I just hit OK and watched it defrost for a bit. I’d stop it and turn it around and start it up again a few times until the pieces weren’t frozen. After about four rotations it was done.
I got a bowl and put a bunch of flour in (I know you told me to use a handful but I don’t follow directions too well), unsure how much would be needed to cover the chicken legs. I took out the thing of paprika and put a bunch in (I just eyeballed the measurement- after mixing it all together it was a very light shade of pink). I put a few pinches of iodized salt and pepper in the mix and stirred it all up. I threw both the legs in and covered them with my mix.
I took the pan and poured all the oil I had in. It didn’t come up to what I thought was the right amount so I used the aerosol can and sat there spraying more in for about a minute. I put up the heat (as described above). When it finally only sizzled when sprinkled with water I used two wooden spoons to transfer the chicken into the pan and hoped it wouldn’t pop at me. It didn’t.
I came back to the couch and sat down. Some undetermined amount of time later I realized I’d forgotten to set the timer and rushed back to the stove. By now the living room is full of one of the greatest smells I’ve ever smelt. I figure it’s been ten minutes and so I flip the fuckers over. Immediately I regret only putting two in. These things look amazing.
So now I’m waiting for the other side to cook, drooling at the smell.
So I guess what I’m saying is… what an amazing chef I am!
Maybe it’s just because I’m surprised by how well they turned out, but these legs are seriously some of the best I’ve ever had. My only complaint is that all the paprika is leaving my fingers red every time I pick them up. I’ve got plenty of mix left and there’s still oil in the pan… I might make more.
Thanks everyone for all the help! A lot of what I needed tips on was really basic stuff, but, well, the chicken legs didn’t come with instructions.
Very good job recognizing that your oil was too hot and not adding the chicken anyway. That looks like some yummy chicken you made there!
See? You can do this! It’s mostly about taking your time and not trying to rush through things - at least until you’ve got enough experience to really know what shortcuts will work and what won’t.
And yes, I suspect the “.5” was asking for the weight. I’ve found that going a little low is safest, especially since drumsticks are so unevenly meated. So .5 was a good enough weight to program anyhow, even if they really weighed a little more in reality.
Yeah, I know right? That’s where all the flavor is. (And I defrost in the microwave all the time too.) I like to make a glaze with honey and ginger to drizzle over my chicken.
shudder Like I recommended up thread, there’s brown rice and frozen veggies…
PS If you like Paprika, next time I recommend using Red Pepper Flakes. If you have a hispanic market nearby, the spices are literally dirt cheap there.
Congrats on working it out and getting good chicken
For future reference - oven baked chicken drumsticks can be cooked from frozen. Unfortunately I can’t give you times and temperatures, because a) I have an oven that only works in C and I’m too lazy to convert and b) I just kinda turn it on and crank it about so far, then ignore it until I remember it again.
But anyway - Lump of frozen chicken drumsticks? Put on a cookie sheet and toss into a medium-high oven. Leave it for a while, I dunno let’s call it 15-20 minutes. After that time the legs should be warmish and coming away from each other, so then I separate them out. If the oven feels a bit low I turn it up a bit further and forget about it for a while longer. Another 20 minutes? Maybe. When I can smell chicken from the living room, I go and pull the legs out of the oven and they’re crispy and juicy and cooked all the way through.
If you’re science minded at all, check out Good Eats (there are clips on YouTube). I didn’t get cooking at all until I started watching him. I’m not saying you have to follow his recipes, but he helped me understand cooking a lot better. I used to burn things, too (and I still occasionally do when I’m stupid!)
