How To Boil Chicken Legs - Quick Recipe

If you haven’t tried to boil chicken legs before, let me tell you, you are missing out! Cooked chicken drumsticks are tender, flavoursome and juicy. Furthermore, they contain a lot of important nutrients. Healthy and delicious? A perfect recipe for me.

Legs are my favorite chicken parts and I like using them in my cooking. They are delicious, kid-friendly and are much cheaper than chicken thighs or breast.

You can enjoy the boiled drumsticks freshly cooked or use them in many other dishes, but we will come to this a little later in the post. First, let’s have a look at what we will need to cook them.

Ingredients

Chicken drumsticks. Always opt for a free-range, or if you can afford, organic chicken. Chicken legs are usually very cheap, so that shouldn’t break the budget.

Onion. I prefer a simple brown onion. Do not cut it, just take off the first layer of skin and put it in a pot. The outer skins of onions provide an excellent source of vitamins A, C, E, and numerous antioxidants, they are also a rich source of flavonoids, particularly quercetin, a potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory (source). Since we don’t usually consume the onion skin, it is a great way to get the benefits out of it by boiling it in the soup.

Carrot. I always add a carrot when cooking chicken. It adds a little sweetness to the chicken stock.

Bay leaves. Bay leaves are very flavoursome so only one or two small leaves will be enough.

Peppercorns. 3-4 black peppercorns are a great way to add those immune-boosting compounds and level up the flavour.

Garlic. If you are a fan of garlic, add one or two garlic cloves. This is however totally optional.

Herbs (optional). You can add fresh herbs such as parsley or rosemary if you like the flavour.

How to boil chicken legs.

This is a very quick recipe. Cooking chicken drumsticks is very straightforward.

Place chicken legs in a saucepan.

Add onion, carrot, peppercorn, bay leaves and salt.

Add enough cold water so that the chicken and vegetables are covered, about 2-3 cm above the meat.

Bring liquid to the boil on medium-high heat and immediately lower the heat to very low. If you cook chicken on high heat, it will be hard and rubbery. It is no need to rush when boiling chicken.

Let the chicken simmer for about 30 minutes. The cooking time will depend on the size of the chicken legs and the total cooking time might vary. Smaller legs will need less time to cook than large ones.

And don't forget, For best results avoid boiling chicken drumsticks at high temperatures.

How to tell if the chicken is fully cooked?

Using a fork, poke the chicken, if the meat comes from the bone easily, the legs are cooked.

You could use an instant meat thermometer to check if the chicken is cooked, but I don’t think it is needed. In case you want to use one, chicken is done cooking when its internal temperature reaches 165ºF (75ºC).

Storage

I like to store cooked chicken legs in the stock they were cooked in. Put the drumsticks in an airtight container, preferably glass and add enough of the stock to cover the meat. This way you can keep the chicken in the fridge for up to three days and the meat will stay tender and juicy and won't dry out.

Freezing

If you would like to freeze the cooked legs, take the meat off the bones first, divide it into meal-sized portions and put them in freezer-safe containers or bags and freeze for up to 6 months.

How to defrost cooked chicken legs

The best way to defrost the cooked chicken meat is to let it defrost slowly in the fridge overnight.

Make sure to explore my other delicious chicken recipes, always gluten-free of course!

What to do with the liquid the chicken was cooked in?

Do not through it away! This is perfect chicken broth and you can use it in many recipes. The chicken soup cooked with this broth will be delicious. It is also much cheaper and healthier than the store-bought variety. My kids like to have a cup of chicken stock with a teaspoon of soy sauce.

How to serve

The cooked chicken leg meat is very versatile and can be used in many different ways. Try my Chinese chicken salad or use shredded chicken for tacos and sandwiches. I like adding cooked chicken to soups for some extra protein.

Quick Q and As:

And here is how you cook the most flavorful chicken. Enjoy!

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Check out this Mandarin Chicken Recipe using chicken legs.