Pan seared and grilled to perfection, served with some crispy potatoes, these butterflied chicken drumsticks are the perfect quick and easy dinner option for a busy weeknight.
It is a fantastic way to cook this classic chicken cut faster, more evenly, and with a deliciously crispy skin.
If you haven't tried the technique of butterflying chicken before, this is the perfect recipe to try. It's similar to spatchcocking chicken and creates a larger surface area, which helps the chicken absorb the marinade and spices better and also makes it super crispy.
The addition of the potatoes really finishes the meal beautifully. This one's quickly become a family favorite, and I love making it on rotation on weekdays—just like I did with my One-Pot Rice and Chicken or One-Pan Salmon with Crispy Potatoes and Veggies.
If you love potatoes to enjoy with, you can also check out my air fryer potatoes Potatoes recipe, which is a total keeper.
Jump to:
- What I Love About this Recipe
- Recipe Ingredients
- Variations & Substitutions
- How to Make Butterflied Chicken Drumsticks
- Storing Leftovers
- Tips & Tricks to Make the Butterflied Chicken Drumsticks
- Serving Ideas & Suggestions
- Recipe FAQs
- More Chicken Recipes to Try
- What Does Butterflying Mean?
- Butterflied Chicken Drumsticks
What I Love About this Recipe
The chicken is crispy on the outside, soft and juicy on the inside, and seasoned to perfection.
You can play around with the seasonings and spices to enjoy different flavors and recipe variations.
It's the perfect quick and easy recipe for a rushed weeknight dinner.
Recipe Ingredients
Chicken drumsticks: For this recipe, I am using bone-in chicken drumsticks. They are super tender and juicy, and the fatty, delicate meat is perfectly marinated.
Soy sauce: Soy Sauce gives the chicken drumsticks a delicious umami flavor. It is salty, sweet, and bitter in a good way, which complements the dish.
Seasoned salt or regular salt: Seasoned salt has bold flavors, like garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and, of course, salt. It is perfect for marination here, but you can make your own or use regular salt if you don't have it.
Garlic paste: Garlic paste will give the chicken a delicious, savory, garlicky kick.
Black pepper: Freshly ground black pepper adds a peppery kick with some earthiness.
Lemon juice: Lemon juice will add tanginess and help balance out the spice of the chicken.
Paprika: Paprika gives the chicken that beautiful deep red color and a spicy kick. You can also use smoked paprika to add a spicy, smoky flavour.
Hot sauce: Hot sauce brings out the heat and works as a binder for all the spices.
Honey: Honey is a great source of sweetness when we use bold, spicy, and tangy flavors. It subtly balances out the marination without overpowering it.
Baby potatoes: Baby potatoes are quick to cook and take on the flavour easily compared to regular potatoes. Just cut them into halves and wash them thoroughly.
Marinade: I used a mix of soy sauce, seasoned salt, garlic paste, lemon juice, hot sauce, paprika and honey.
Seasonings: Just a bit of salt and pepper.
Olive oil: For the marinade and to drizzle over the potatoes. You can also use any other cooking oil of your choice if you want to.
Parsley: Chopped fresh, to garnish.
See the recipe card for quantities.
Variations & Substitutions
- For a bit of different flavor variation, you can also add some homemade Green Seasoning or jerk marinade into the marinade.
- To lend a bit of extra heat to the marinade, add some red pepper flakes or cayenne (or smoked paprika for a smoky flavor) to the mix.
- Combine barbecue sauce with the melted butter for a sweet and tangy glaze. Coat the drumsticks in BBQ sauce before frying for a more intense flavor.
- If you prefer chicken thighs or chicken wings, they can be used in place of drumsticks. Adjust cooking time as needed, especially for thighs, which may take a little longer to cook through.
How to Make Butterflied Chicken Drumsticks
To make the butterflied chicken drumsticks, first preheat your oven to 400 degrees and line your baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
- Clean and pat dry the chicken. Use a sharp knife to slice into the chicken such that you have a butterfly shape like this.
- Do this with all the chicken drumsticks and remove any excess moisture with kitchen towels.
- Add them all to a bowl with the ingredients for the marinade.
- Mix well and set this aside for 30 minutes or more.
- Heat olive oil in a pan and sear the chicken over high heat until slightly cooked.
- Transfer the chicken and the seasoned potatoes to the baking sheet and bake for 30-40 minutes or until cooked. Garnish and serve.
Storing Leftovers
If you have some leftover butterflied chicken drumsticks and potatoes, you can store them for up to 3 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To reheat, you can microwave them or pop them in a preheated oven for a few minutes.
Tips & Tricks to Make the Butterflied Chicken Drumsticks
- Remember to use a sharp knife for the butterfly cut. A dull knife will ruin the texture of the chicken drumsticks since they are a little hard to cut.
- It is crucial to pat the chicken dry when marinating. This process will help the marinade stick to the chicken and give it the maximum flavor.
- Also make sure the potatoes are dry before seasoning them. You can pat them dry with a clean kitchen towel or paper towels.
- I boiled the potatoes for a few minutes before baking them, but if you're chopping the potatoes into smaller peices, you can choose to skip that step too.
- You can marinate the chicken a day ahead of time to make things quicker. This actually helps the chicken soak in all of the delicious flavours of the marinade, and become softer, more juicy.
- You can add your favorite vegetables to the chicken along with the potatoes to bulk it up. Veggies like broccoli, carrots, green beans, bell peppers, Brussels sprouts and even asparagus are all excellent choices.
Serving Ideas & Suggestions
These butterfly chicken drumsticks can be enjoyed on their own, or paired with a bread side like Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls or homemade East African Chapati, which is essentially a flaky flatbread.
Finish it up with a nice slice of Extra Moist Lemon Loaf Cake or a Mini Coconut Bundt Cake.
Recipe FAQs
I will not recommend any other chicken parts other than drumsticks for this butterflied chicken recipe. Chicken drumsticks are perfect, especially when cutting them with the butterfly technique.
Yes, you can, but you must thaw it completely before marinating it. You can also marinate the chicken ahead and freeze it. Just bring it to room temperature to separate the chicken pieces, then cook them in the pan and finish them in the oven
Baby potatoes have thin skins as compared to regular potatoes. I like keeping the skin on the potatoes since they are super crispy and delicious.
You can use skinless chicken drumsticks, but they are more likely to dry out while baking. Therefore, I recommend using the drumsticks with skin.
More Chicken Recipes to Try
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
If you tried these butterflied chicken drumstics or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
What Does Butterflying Mean?
This simply refers to flattening out chicken or any means with a knife or kitchen sear, so that they cook evenly and quickly. This is an easy method to enjoy crispy yet juicy chicken. It also creates a larger surface area for spices to penetrate. So, season or marinate as you want. A similar
Butterflied Chicken Drumsticks
Equipment
Ingredients
To Marinate the Chicken
- 1.5 lb Chicken drumsticks bone-in
- 2 tablespoon Soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon Seasoned salt or regular salt
- 2 teaspoon Garlic paste
- 1 teaspoon Blackpepper
- 1 tablespoon Lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Paprika
- 2 tablespoon Hot sauce
- 1 tablespoon Honey
- 2 teaspoon Parsley fresh or dried
- 2 teaspoon Olive oil
For the Potatoes
- 1.5 lb Baby potatoes cut into halves and wash
- 2 tbsp Olive oil
- 2 teaspoon Fresh Parsley
- Salt and Black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400℉. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon mat.
- Pat dry the chicken with a paper towel.
- Using a knife or sear, open up the chicken till it has a butterfly shape. Do not cut all the meat from the chicken. You want to end up with 2 flaps of meats and a center bone.
- Transfer the chicken into a bowl and marinate with all the ingredients for the chicken.
- In a pan on medium heat, heat some oil and sear each side of the chicken for 2 minutes till it has a charred look. Remove and set aside. The chicken isn't fully cooked at this point.
- Add the potatoes in a pot of boiling water and let them cook for 10 minutes. Then drain the water and transfer it into a bowl.
- Season with all the ingredients for the potatoes.
- Now transfer the chicken and potatoes to a baking sheet.
- Bake at 400℉ for 30-40 minutes till fully cooked.
- Remove from the oven and serve immediately.
Video
Notes
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Nutrition
Bilikis says
This looks so delicious