Julie Clark
Updated:
Crispy Fried Chicken Drumsticks
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A dinner the whole family will love! Learn our tips for tender & Crispy Fried Chicken Drumsticks with amazing flavor.
When you’re craving comfort food and want to save a little money, this Crispy Fried Chicken Drumsticks recipe is the economical choice. The buttermilk soak makes the chicken extra tender, and our tip for placing the fried chicken on a wire rack helps keep it crispy. (And try our Doritos chicken tenders and fried chicken strips! You’ll love those, too.)
Skip takeout! Make perfectly fried chicken drumsticks at home.
When I think of crispy fried drumsticks, I think of summer picnics and family reunions. In our reunions over the years, we’d sometimes buy fast food drumsticks or buckets of chicken because it was quick and easy.
This recipe calls for soaking the chicken drumsticks in seasoned buttermilk for at least 1 hour before cooking. Why is this necessary?
Soaking chicken drumsticks in buttermilk makes the meat tender. While harsher acids like lemon juice or vinegar can tenderize, they can also dry out the meat. But soaking chicken in buttermilk helps it stay juicy while tenderizing the meat.
Plain milk won’t have the same effect. If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, use milk and add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice or vinegar per cup of milk. This is a great substitute for buttermilk.
Bone-in, skin on drumsticks are an economical choice for a main dish. Try our slow cooker chicken drumsticks or if you’re looking for baked chicken, try our crispy baked chicken legs. Our instant pot honey mustard chicken is great, too!
To make this a meal, try adding mashed potatoes, coleslaw, fruit salad and dinner rolls. And don’t forget a glass of sweet tea. That’s a classic comfort meal right there!
Enjoy! -Julie
Ingredients
It is best to fry chicken in an oil that has a high smoke point which means that the fat won’t break down and give your chicken strange flavors. Peanut oil has a high smoke point of 450º Fahrenheit. This allows you to fry the chicken at 375º Fahrenheit and the oil will not break down.
Also, peanut oil also is inexpensive to buy and has a great nutty flavor.
How do you keep fried chicken from getting soggy?
This is our key tip for crispy chicken. When you remove the chicken from the frying pan, place it on a wire rack (with paper towels or a pan underneath), which will allow the oil to drip off. Air will be able to circulate around the fried chicken drumsticks keeping it as crispy as possible.
Crispy Fried Chicken Drumsticks
A dinner the whole family will love! Tips for tender & Crispy Fried Chicken Drumsticks with amazing flavor.
Servings 14
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Marinating Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Ingredients
- 14 chicken drumsticks (bone in and skin on)
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons hot sauce
- 4 tablespoons creole seasoning divided
- 2 tablespoons black pepper divided
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- peanut oil for frying
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix the buttermilk, hot sauce, 2 tablespoons of Creole seasoning and 1 tablespoon of black pepper. Stir well. Add the chicken to the buttermilk mixture. Stir carefully to coat. Cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour, but up to 12 hours. 2 cups buttermilk, 2 tablespoons hot sauce, 4 tablespoons creole seasoning, 2 tablespoons black pepper, 14 chicken drumsticks
- In a medium mixing bowl add the flour, remaining creole seasoning and black pepper. Mix well. 3 cups all purpose flour
- Take each chicken drumstick and coat in the flour mixture. Make sure it is completely coated. Allow the chicken to rest 20 minutes before frying. This will help the coating stay on the chicken.
- Place a baking rack over a rimmed baking pan. Set aside. This will hold the cooked chicken.
- Pour oil to a 12” frying skillet or other frying pan. The oil needs to be about 2” deep. Turn on to medium heat. The grease needs to reach a temperature of 375°F. Use a cooking thermometer to measure the temperature so that your chicken cooks evenly. peanut oil
- Add about 5 chicken drumsticks to the hot grease. Cook for 15 minutes. Turning about every 5 minutes. Check the temperature of the chicken inside has gotten to at least 165°F.
- Remove from the frying pan and place it on the wire rack to drip. This will help the chicken stay crispy.
Notes
Once cooled store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4 days. This recipe does freeze well. Use a freezer safe container and freeze up to 6 weeks.
I use an air fryer (it works great if you have one) to reheat any leftover chicken for about 5 minutes. This gives that crispy texture again.
The calories shown are based on the recipe making 14 drumsticks, with 1 serving being 1 drumstick. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information. The information in the nutrition box are calculated through a program and there is room for error. If you need an accurate count, I recommend running the ingredients through your favorite nutrition calculator.**
Nutrition
Calories: 246kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 73mg | Sodium: 165mg | Potassium: 287mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 694IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 57mg | Iron: 2mg
How to Make Fried Chicken Drumsticks
Soak. In a large bowl, mix the buttermilk, hot sauce, 2 tablespoons of Creole seasoning and 1 tablespoon of black pepper. Stir well. Add the chicken to the buttermilk mixture. Stir carefully to coat. Cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour, but up to 12 hours.
Flour. In a medium mixing bowl add the flour, remaining creole seasoning and black pepper. Mix well. Take each chicken drumstick and coat in the flour mixture. Make sure it is completely coated. Allow the chicken to rest 20 minutes before frying. This will help the coating stay on the chicken.
Fry. Pour oil to a 12” frying skillet or other frying pan. The oil needs to be about 2” deep. Turn on to medium heat. The grease needs to reach a temperature of 375°F. Use a cooking thermometer to measure the temperature so that your chicken cooks evenly. Add about 5 chicken drumsticks to the hot grease. Cook for 15 minutes. Turning about every 5 minutes. Check the temperature of the chicken inside has gotten to at least 165°F.
Rest on a wire rack. Place the fried chicken drumsticks on a wire rack and then serve immediately.
Try our Chick-fil-A Chicken Nugget Copycat recipe or for something a little fancier, you’ll love our easy chicken marsala.
I have a question. When I fry large chicken legs, there seems like there is always a large blood vessel in the leg so when you get to the bone, it’s bloody. I always temp every piece, so I know it’s done. Any idea? Yours looks excellent.