Chook Me!

How to cook chicken drumsticks without an oven or grill?

I have a microwave and stove, but only two saucepans and a frying pan for the stove. The chicken is already spiced, but I need to cook it. I tried frying it yesterday, but that mostly just cooked the outside, and it was very rare on the inside. Is there a better way?

Public Comments

1. Dig a small hole in the back yard. Find some nice dried leaves along with some matches. Light fire. Get a wire hanger. Put chicken on. And turn slowly. CAUTION: Could be slightly dangerous and may cause cancer. And or burn surroundings.
2. If you are going to fry it, you will probably need to deep fry, and if you're not submerging the chicken, that won't happen. I would try getting a cast iron skillet that is shaped like a grill. It will give you just almost as much heat as an outside grill...it just takes a bit longer. (Partially covering the pan may also help convect heat faster) Then you can follow any grilling recipe and it should work the same as it would on the grill just might take a bit longer...buy a meat thermometer to save time and to avoid over/under cooking. (I know they are a little expensive, but get a good one, preferably digital, it's worth not going to hospital for food poisoning) Cast Iron Info: Yes cast iron skillets are a bit pricey, and you do have to "recast" them every other year or so, but they are truly gems of cooking. Great for any heavy meats and even baked goods like corn bread. Cast iron makes for a great dense heat that is unlike any found in your run of the mill non-stick pan. Just remember, you cannot use soap to clean cast iron...you clean it with water and remove extra oils by reheating the pan and dumping/absorbing excess oils and food with napkins etc. If the cast iron skillet does not come with directions, look them up on the internet. Don't Want to Deal With Cast Iron...do you have a pot? The last option is to boil the meat then once it's done take it out and flash fry the outside...my mom did this...I don't particularly care for chicken cooked this way, but this will, no matter what, get you cooked chicken and a weird smell in the kitchen. Why not use just regular pan? Cast iron simply holds a higher heat for meats and is great at keeping the heat going without burning the outside of the meat like most pans (especially non-stick cheapy ones) Above all, don't use a sautee pan, sauce pan, or a non-stick skillet (great for pancakes...bad for drumsticks) Or, finally, just switch to chicken breasts and all can be solved. Chicken breasts can be slowly grilled/sauteed over a bit of oil, but be careful...low and slow will work for these babies, and patience is necessary.
3. Frying chicken can be a little bit tricky sometimes without burning it. You can heat up your skillet, add two or three tablespoons of oil and brown the chicken on each side. Remove the extra grease in the pan when browned and try adding liquid to the skillet and cover on low until a fork pierced in the chicken indicates the meat is falling off the bone. (probably between 45 to 60 minutes.) You could use chicken broth or tomato or spaghetti sauce as the cooking liquid. If you only have the chicken bouillon cubes then you dissolve one cube or one teaspoon chicken bouillon powder to one cup of water and add the broth to the skillet. If you have spaghetti sauce then you'd be looking at a dish similar to chicken cacciatore You can also make an excellent one-dish skillet bake chicken recipe of some kind if you have a can of Campbells cream of mushroom soup. You might want to search their web site for recipes.
4. wash the chicken & just boil them with herbs & peppercorns & bayleaf, salt, carrot, celery, leek, onion When cooked, strain the chicken stock, take the chicken meat off the bone. Now boil some noodles of your liking & make a lovely chicken noodle soup. Add the boneless chicken meat on top. Garnish with finely sliced spring onions & sliced red chilly if you like it hot. It makes a great meal.
5. If your frying pan is oven proof, put the chicken in the frying pan and cook them in the oven ,,,,,,,,, otherwise lay foil on the oven rack and put the drumsticks on the foil and bake as usual at 350 for probably 45 -60 minutes ,,,,,,,,,
6. do you own a car? Wrap the drums in about three layers of tin foil beong careful to seal the packages well. Now, lay them or wire them onto your exhaut manifold and go for a drive . 45 minutes should do. Or you could try fring it for a little longer at a lower heat. or boil them in some kind of sauce.
7. Fry the drumsticks first in a little oil in the lfrying pan. Use only a medium heat and turn the drumsticks over a couple of times until they are nice and browned. Now put them on a plate and microwave uncovered for a few minutes until they sizzle and liquid begins to come out. There should be no visible blood. Delicious!
8. Do not worry you can cook those chicken legs in the pans you have. The dark meat of the chicken is best cooked on medium heat then on low heat and slow enough to make it tender and done. I'd suggest you take your frying pan and place some cooking oil just enough to cover the bottom surface. You said the chicken was already spiced. So heat the oil until it is hot enough to brown a cube of bread then add the legs and give enough room so they can brown or cook in two batches. Since you already know how to brown it all you need to to is add some liquid to the browned chicken it's your choice depending on what taste you want. Here are some suggestions: chicken broth spaghetti sauce in a jar or your own meatless sauce dry rose or white wine water water and bullion cube or combination of any of these After the chicken is browned add enough liquid of your choice to cover the legs and after it comes to a boil turn down the heat and cover with a lid or aluminum foil. Keep the heat on medium then turn down to low. Let cook until the fork stuck in the thickest part goes in easy. It should pull away from the lower part of the leg. It should take about 40 minutes total depends on the size of the legs. Here are some herbs that are good with chicken: for Italian style: oregano, basil, rosemary, garlic, parsley for Mexican style: salt, pepper, paprika, chile powder, oregano and cumin for Chinese style: In a bowl mix 1 tablespoon orange zest, pinch of ground red pepper, black pepper, pinch of salt, 1 tablespoon of brown sugar. MIx and season chicken then brown in oil until golden. In a large cup place 1/3 cup soy sauce, 1/3 cup water, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, 1 tablespoon sesame seed oil, 2 tablespoons dry sherry. When chicken is 95% done add the wet ingredients and pour over chicken let cook until done and fork tender. Serve with rice and a salad Best wishes, Mama Jazzy Geri