Salt & Pepper, Honey & Chilli | Ideas for Chicken Thighs & Drumsticks

Chicken thighs and drumsticks are a great alternative to chicken breasts not to mention terrific value for money – you just have to be a little more inventive. I also like cooking these because I can pop these in the oven for 30 minutes and that’s it – only one tray to wash too! Here are just three ideas for cooking chicken thighs and drumsticks.

First of all, a top tip! For a crispier skin, wash your chicken thighs and drumsticks before flavouring them.

Rather than make all of them the same flavour, I experimented with a different flavour for each – honey with chilli powder, salt and pepper and HP Brown Sauce. As you can see, I didn’t take too much time in preparing these!

I also added chopped carrots and potatoes and added those to the tray too. I left the carrots as they were but added a splash of oil to each of the potatoes so they would develop a crispy skin. And that’s it, ready to go into the oven for 30 minutes.

The Verdict

Delicious. I was really surprised by the punch of the flavour from the chicken skin considering how easy the preparation was. My favourite has to be the salt and pepper. At first it’s rather dry but it’s complemented superbly by the juices which burst from inside when you bite in!

This was also my first time cooking potatoes in the oven – mind blown. Again, considering the low preparation time the results were fantastic. The slightly roasted potatoes were extremely fluffy on the inside and the outside had developed a wonderful jacket potato-like skin – in my opinion these is no better way to cook potatoes now. Oh and the carrots were okay, but I might look into ideas for making carrots great in the oven for another post.

What Would I do Differently

Take more time in flavouring the chicken thighs and drumsticks. Seeing as I slopped and messily sprinkled them, I can only imagine what they would taste like if I took a little more time! So covering every inch (even the bottom) of the skin would be a definite to improve the flavours. I might try cooking on a sheet of tin foil which means the chicken won’t stick to the bottom of the tin – easy peasy cleaning! I  only dribbled oil on the top from the bottle (not very precise at all I know), so next time I might try brushing oil and coating every inch too. A post on creating the perfect roast potatoes is a must!

What’s your favourite flavour for chicken thighs and drumsticks? Do you have any tips for creating the perfect roast potato? Tell me in the comments section below!