Honey-Soy Chicken Drumsticks, Thighs or Wings

Honey-Soy Chicken - Photo by JayDi Photography

I love chicken. Thigh meat has got to be one of my favorite cuts of chicken to work with. It's flavourful, juicy, forgiving and of course lends itself to many applications.  This method would also be great on wings, or drumsticks if you want to make appetizers with them to feed a crowd this summer. In fact, tonight, in the pouring rain (shakes fists at sky), we flame kissed the chicken as soon as it came out of the oven. Delicious!

Honey-Soy Chicken Drumsticks, Thighs or Wings

Ingredients:

18 chicken wings or 10 drumsticks or 4 thighs and 5 drumsticks, etc.
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons oil — peanut, canola, vegetable, etc.
2 tablespoons ketchup
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 cup honey
2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400ºF. If using wings: wash and dry, cut off wing tips and place on a rimmed baking sheet. If using the larger quantity of drumsticks and/or thighs: wash and dry and place in a 9X13-inch pan; if using the smaller quantity, wash and dry and place in a 8×8-inch (or something similar) pan. Season lightly with salt (as soy is salty) and pepper to taste.

Combine remaining ingredients and pour over chicken. Toss chicken (with your hands, if you don’t mind, or with tongs, if you do) and then arrange skin-side down in the baking pan. Place in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove pan, turn chicken over, and return to the oven for another 30 minutes. Remove pan and turn chicken over once more. 

* If making a small batch — 5 drumsticks or 4 thighs, etc. — halve the sauce recipe but keep the cooking time the same.