Roast Chicken Legs

Posted by Dacia on May 18, 2010 in Photos, Recipes, Successes, Tips and Tricks | 1 comment

Guess who ate poultry … willingly? Ravenously, even! That’s right, my normally protein-adverse kid! Want to know the secret to my success? I handed her the meat on the bone, and just like a little caveman, she went to town.

It shouldn’t surprise me. Eating meat off the bone is something new. It’s fun. Just like enjoying a dipping sauce or holding chopsticks, using your hands to hold and eat a chicken leg offers a new experience. The only reason it took me so long to introduce meat on the bone to Neko is my own hang up. I just don’t like eating meat off the bone.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ll do it. I love fried chicken like I love the air I breathe, so I’ll do it.

But every time I make a roast chicken, which is at least once a month, I slice breast meat off for myself and offer some to Neko, letting Eric have the legs. Looks like he’s going to have to share them from now on.

I tried this recipe is because chicken legs were on sale at the store, but I actually really ended up enjoying the dish. I am perfectly capable of getting over my issues and eating chicken off the bone when the product is worth it and in this case, I think it is.

The best part is how easy this recipe is to make. It’s cheap and it’s adaptable. And if you’re two years old, it might just be the dish to put you over the edge and finally make you accept poultry as a viable food source.

Roast Chicken Legs
Serves 2 adults and 1 toddler
(Adapted from Chaos in the Kitchen.)

4 large chicken legs
salt and pepper
olive oil
smoked paprika (or other spice of your choosing)
garlic powder

Preheat oven to 475. If you have a convection oven, you can use a convection setting to get super crispy skin. I baked my chicken at 450 on convection bake.

Rinse and dry chicken legs and put them in a large sealable plastic bag. Dump in ½ tsp. salt, ¼ tsp. ground pepper, ½ tsp. smoked paprika and ¼ tsp. garlic powder.

Seal the bag and coat the chicken with spices. Add more spices if it looks like some pieces aren’t well-covered.

Pour 2 Tbs. olive oil into the bag, seal and cot the chicken with the oil.

Place the legs on a pan and roast in the oven for about 45 mins., turning the pieces occasionally.

When the chicken is done (internal temperature is 170 degrees and meat is falling off the bone), you can make the skin extra crispy if you’d like by placing the legs under the broiler for a minute or two.