Another crispy fried chicken drumsticks recipe as my better half could not get enough of it! Restrict the store-bought fried chicken and make these easy & delish best fried chicken drumsticks at home for your occasional cheat day!
Love those buckets of crispy fried chicken but do not want to consume the store-bought ones? Good decision!
Because you can make way more tastier crispy fried chicken drumsticks at home without all the nasty ingredients that are added to induce addiction!
There was a time ages ago when we were also unbelievably addicted to those hot & crispy chicken, but thankfully we could come out of that mischievous trap for a long time now!
And thanks to my cooking interest, I could make these fried chicken drumsticks at home whenever we crave them but of course not too frequently!
Good news is you can make these too! These fried chicken drumsticks are so easy to make that it seems unbelievable at times! Trust me on this and give it a try!
I can guarantee you will love them more than the store-bought ones and will be back to thank me here!
What are these best fried chicken drumsticks?
Crispy fried chicken does not need any introduction whatsoever! Same goes for these fried chicken drumsticks! I myself have made so many versions of fried chicken till date that I have actually lost count of it!
I didn’t have any intention to make another one and share it again simply because I didn’t want to tempt myself with such an irresistible thing when I am trying hard to shed some extra kilos!
But my better half convinced me that doing a cheat meal once in 2 months is okay and I simply gave in! But, I swear I only had 1 of these even though they were insanely tasty and were inviting me with all their crispy deliciousness to get one more bite!
Ingredients for Fried chicken drumsticks
Chicken drumsticks: There is no surprise that chicken drumstick is the star ingredient of this best ever fried chicken drumsticks recipe!
To make your fried chicken drumsticks the best version ever, make sure to use the freshest chicken possible!
I would recommend not to use the frozen chicken which has been lying in your freezer for quite some time now; instead order a fresh batch and make these fried chicken drumsticks immediately!
Trust me, you will be blown away with the difference this simple trick makes!
Buttermilk: This is quite a magical ingredient which helps tenderize the chicken as well as allow the seasoning to penetrate deep inside the meat.
Pro tip: If you do not have buttermilk handy, you can make a workable version of it by mixing half a cup of yogurt/curd with 2 cups of water. Give a good mix and use it as a buttermilk substitute.
Garlic powder: Garlic is a must-have aromatic for any chicken recipe and in this recipe of fried chicken drumsticks it is better to use garlic powder instead of grated garlic or paste as the powder will be distributed evenly inside the cuts of the chicken pieces.
Peri Peri spice powder: Who wants a bland fried chicken drumsticks? Nobody! That’s where this Peri Peri spice mix comes into play and makes the juicy & tender chicken well seasoned and tasty with a spicy kick!
If you are confused which brand to use, you can try this one that I have been using for quite some time now and I’m happy with the outcome.
You can use any other spice mix of your choice or make a homemade version of your own by mixing various spice powders and dried herbs.
All-purpose flour/maida: These crispy fried chicken drumsticks are super-crispy because of two critical ingredients one of which is our good old maida or all-purpose flour. Maida adds a certain amount of softness along with the crispiness.
Cornflour/cornstarch: The majority of the crispiness of these crispy fried chicken drumsticks comes from cornflour which is also called cornstarch. I used a 1:1 ratio of maida and cornflour; if you want your chicken to be crispier, increase the amount of cornflour a bit.
Egg: As I have mentioned many times before that egg is one magical ingredient that can create wonders to recipes and here is again another proof!
These crispy fried chicken drumsticks would never turn out juicy & tender inside without dipping them in eggs before coating with flours.
Oil: You need a generous amount of oil for deep frying your chicken drumsticks. Use any flavorless oil of your choice like canola, sunflower or any other vegetable oil. Skip olive oil or mustard oil for this.
Salt: You need to season your chicken drumsticks at all layers as the dark meat of chicken legs is thicker than other portions.
Season the buttermilk with salt so that it helps penetrate the seasoning inside the meat while soaking.
Season the flour mixture and also the beaten eggs with salt. Also massage the chicken drumsticks with salt and peri peri mix after they are soaked well in buttermilk.
All these layers of seasoning will ensure beautifully seasoned crispy fried drumsticks!
How to make Fried chicken drumsticks?
Step 1: Wash and pat dry the chicken drumsticks. Make cuts on the thickest part of each drumstick using a paring knife.
Step 2: Now pour the buttermilk and a teaspoon of salt in a large bowl which should be big enough to hold all the drumsticks.
Step 3: Add all the drumsticks to the salted buttermilk and let them soak for at least an hour.
Pro tip: Soaking the drumsticks in salted buttermilk will soften the chicken giving you a juicy & tender meat which is perfectly seasoned.
Step 4: While the chicken is soaking, prepare a seasoning mix by whisking together garlic powder, Peri Peri spice powder and salt in a small bowl. Keep it aside.
Step 5: After about an hour, take the chicken drumsticks out from buttermilk allowing the excess to drip off. Arrange them on a plate.
Step 6: Sprinkle the Peri Peri spice mix over the chicken drumsticks and generously coat each drumstick with it on all sides. Leave them at room temperature while you prepare the flour mixture for coating.
Step 7: In a mixing bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour i.e. maida, cornflour (aka cornstarch) and salt. Give a thorough mix so that both the flours are evenly combined together.
Step 8: Transfer the flour mixture to a shallow dish for coating the drumsticks.
Step 9: Break the eggs in another large mixing bowl and beat them well with half a teaspoon of salt.
Step 10: Now you are ready to bread/coat the chicken. Take one drumstick at a time, dip it in beaten egg and lift it up; allow the excess liquid to drip off.
Step 11: Now place the drumstick on the flour mixture and using your other hand (which should be dry) coat it with the flour mix on all sides.
Step 12: We will double coat the drumsticks; so dip the flour-coated drumstick again in the egg mixture for a couple of seconds, lift it up, allow the excess to drip off and then place it back on the flour mixture.
Step 13: Again using your dry hand, coat the drumstick with the flour mix on all sides evenly by pressing the flour all over the chicken leg.
Step 14: Once you are satisfied with the outer coating, lift it up and give a gentle shake to let any excess flour fall off.
Step 15: Repeat the similar breading process for all chicken drumsticks and keep them ready.
Step 16: When you are ready to fry your chicken drumsticks, heat a deep frying wok with enough oil for frying.
Step 17: Warm up the oil until it is hot but not smoking (approximately 180 C / 350 F in case you have an instant read thermometer).
Step 18: Now reduce the flame to medium and drop the coated chicken drumsticks carefully into hot oil.
Pro tip: Do not fry all the drumsticks together at a time especially if your wok is not too large. I had fried just 2 or 3 at a time.
Otherwise the oil temperature will drop quickly and your drumsticks will not have enough space to float around inside the oil which will force them to lose moisture resulting in soggy fried drumsticks! And obviously you don’t want that!
Step 19: Deep fry each batch of drumsticks for 10 to 12 minutes on medium-low flame turning and flipping them around every 2 minutes to ensure even frying on all sides.
Step 20: Once the outer coating of the chicken turns golden brown, take them out and place them either over a wire rack or a plate lined with absorbent kitchen towel to let the excess oil drip off/soak up.
Pro tip: Do not wait till the drumsticks turn deep brown as it continues to cook even after you take them out from the hot oil using the remainder heat and will turn a shade darker after a while.
Step 21: Once all the chicken drumsticks are fried, serve them in a platter with tomato ketchup or any other favorite dip of yours! Enjoy!
More delicious chicken recipes from Flavor Quotient
- Grilled Chicken Thighs with Chilli Garlic Sauce
- Grilled Chicken Breast for Summer
- Crispy Baked Chicken with Herbs
- Chicken drumsticks - 6
- Buttermilk - 2 cups (500 ml)
- Salt - 1 tsp
- Garlic powder - 1 tsp
- Peri Peri spice powder - 2 tsp
- Salt - 1 tsp
- All purpose flour / maida - 1 cup
- Corn flour / Cornstarch - 1 cup
- Eggs - 2, large
- Salt - ½ tsp
- Any flavorless oil for deep frying (Canola, sunflower)
- Wash and pat dry the chicken drumsticks. Make cuts on the thickest part of each drumstick using a paring knife.
- Now pour the buttermilk and a teaspoon of salt in a large bowl which should be big enough to hold all the drumsticks.
- Add all the drumsticks to the salted buttermilk and let them soak for at least an hour.
- While the chicken is soaking, prepare a seasoning mix by whisking together garlic powder, Peri Peri spice powder and salt in a small bowl. Keep it aside.
- After about an hour, take the chicken drumsticks out from buttermilk allowing the excess to drip off. Arrange them on a plate.
- Sprinkle the Peri Peri spice mix over the chicken drumsticks and generously coat each drumstick with it on all sides. Leave them at room temperature while you prepare the flour mixture for coating.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour i.e. maida, cornflour (aka cornstarch) and salt. Give a thorough mix so that both the flours are evenly combined together.
- Transfer the flour mixture to a shallow dish for coating the drumsticks.
- Break the eggs in another large mixing bowl and beat them well with half a teaspoon of salt.
- Now you are ready to bread/coat the chicken. Take one drumstick at a time, dip it in beaten egg and lift it up; allow the excess liquid to drip off.
- Now place the drumstick on the flour mixture and using your other hand (which should be dry) coat it with the flour mix on all sides.
- We will double coat the drumsticks; so dip the flour-coated drumstick again in the egg mixture for a couple of seconds, lift it up, allow the excess to drip off and then place it back on the flour mixture.
- Again using your dry hand, coat the drumstick with the flour mix on all sides evenly by pressing the flour all over the chicken leg.
- Once you are satisfied with the outer coating, lift it up and give a gentle shake to let any excess flour fall off.
- Repeat the similar breading process for all chicken drumsticks and keep them ready.
- When you are ready to fry your chicken drumsticks, heat a deep frying wok with enough oil for frying.
- Warm up the oil until it is hot but not smoking (approximately 180 C / 350 F in case you have an instant read thermometer).
- Now reduce the flame to medium and drop the coated chicken drumsticks carefully into hot oil. Do not fry all the drumsticks together at a time especially if your wok is not too large*.
- Deep fry each batch of drumsticks for 10 to 12 minutes on medium-low flame turning and flipping them around every 2 minutes to ensure even frying on all sides.
- Once the outer coating of the chicken turns golden brown, take them out and place them either over a wire rack or a plate lined with absorbent kitchen towel to let the excess oil drip off/soak up.
- Once all the chicken drumsticks are fried, serve them in a platter with tomato ketchup or any other favorite dip of yours! Enjoy!
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