Buffalo Drumstick

Last week, CC#1 made herself Buffalo wings in Bloomington and bragged about mixing in Hoisin sauce to coat her wings. Enticed by a picture of the mouthwatering morsels, CC#2 requested for the same when she came home from New Haven. It so happens that our local Stop & Shop was having a sale of natural chicken drumsticks for $1.49/pound. Instead of Buffalo Wings, we ended up with a meatier and better Buffalo Drumsticks. Unbeatable deal!

Ingredients:

• 15 Chicken drumstick, 15

• 2 tbsp McCormick Monterey Streak Rub (or a combination of salt, garlic power and spices)

• 2 tsp of baking powder (not baking soda)

• 4 tbsp Tabasco sauce

• 2 tbsp butter

• 1 tbsp hoisin sauce

• 1 tbsp sugar

• Oil for frying, best in deep fryer

Instructions:

• Marinade chicken drumsticks with spice rub for two days

• Mix marinaded drumsticks evenly with baking powder

• Bake in a single layer on baking sheet (lined with heavy duty foil) at 350F for 30 minutes

• Fry roasted drumsticks in batches in deep oil at 375F until golden brown (10-15 minutes), flipping sides as the skin browns

• Combine Tabasco sauce, butter, 2 tbsp canola oil, hoisin sauce, and sugar and heat to boil

• Toss fried drumstick in sauce

Serve with blue cheese dressing (4 ounces blue cheese smashed, 1/4 cup yogurt or sour cream and 1/4 cup mayo, salt and pepper to taste), carrot and celery sticks.

What makes this recipe work? Bake drumsticks before frying preserves the moisture in chicken. Drumsticks are bulkier than wings and straight frying may dry out the meat. Adding baking powder helps to make skin crispy. Hoisin sauce adds umami and sweet saltiness to Tobasco sauce. A winning combination.