Drumsticks and 40 Cloves – Made in the Oven
Another recipe for the same classic dish. This one was done in the oven, so mainly hands-free cooking of a delicious fall-off-the-bone crowd-pleaser, what’s not to love? All you need is a large oven proof pan and lid.
Ingredients:
Chicken drum sticks, I made a huge batch, a whole family pack, 11 drumsticks in that pack
1 bundle of thyme, I had some nice wilted ones in my flower pot, yep, I haven’t been keeping up with the watering…
1 bundle of Thai basil, not traditional ingredient for this dish but adds a nice mild earthy flavor
A ton of garlic cloves. I honestly did not remember how many cloves I peeled, probably 5 heads worth. I was watching cooking channel and peeling garlic, gotta say, it was kinda therapeutic.
Salt and pepper to taste
Method:
Liberally salt and pepper the drumsticks on one side. Oven pre-heating at 400F.
Large oven safe pan with a thin layer of oil on medium high heat.
Carefully put drumsticks into the pan, seasoned side down, and liberally season the other side.
Brown all sides of the drumsticks, take your time, be patient. This golden brown color will carry over to the final cooked drumsticks. Brown them in batches if needed to.
Sprinkle all the garlic cloves, thyme bundle and Thai basil all over the top of the chicken drumsticks.
Drizzle the top of the whole dish with a couple rounds of olive oil. Cover with an oven proof lid.
Bake at 400F for about 20 minutes and lower heat to 350F. Bake for another 40 minutes.
You won’t believe how tender these drumsticks turn out, and how sweet and soft the garlic cloves would be. Enjoy as an appetizer, or over some simple cilantro lime rice and asparagus and bell pepper stir-fry…
