22 min
Prep Time
54 min
Cook Time
Medium
Level
4
Servings

These honey orange glazed chicken drumsticks are always a hit when I make them for parties and Boxing Day dinners because the chicken is always fall-off-the-bone juicy. People love the glaze — they always go for seconds! You may quarter 2 chickens if you aren't able to get legs from your butcher, but I find the legs are juicier and save money. Serve this dish with fragrant rice and dilled carrots or roasted asparagus.

Ingredients

  • 8 large chicken legs

  • 1 tablespoon salt

  • 1 cup honey

  • 1 cup orange juice with pulp

  • ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

  • 7 sprigs fresh rosemary, finely chopped

  • 2 oranges, zested

  • 2 cloves garlic, minced (Optional)

  • ground black pepper to taste

Method

  1. Sprinkle chicken with salt and place in a large glass or plastic bowl.

  2. Whisk together honey, orange juice with pulp, butter, rosemary, orange zest, garlic, and pepper in a separate bowl. Pour orange mixture over chicken; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to overnight.

  3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

  4. Place chicken in a single layer in a roasting pan; pour orange mixture over chicken.

  5. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Baste chicken with pan juices and reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees F (160 degrees C). Continue basting chicken every 20 minutes and cook until chicken is a deep orange-brown color, no longer pink at the bone, and the juices run clear, about 90 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat near the bone should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).