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Sweet and Sticky Chicken Drumsticks

The kids won’t be the only ones licking their fingers when you serve this. My mother made a dish similar to this when I was a kid and we just couldn’t get enough of it; the leftovers were my favorite after-school snack, eaten cold right out of the fridge. The rosemary and garlic are subtle but make the flavor a little more complex, and brushing the cooked drumettes with the reduced marinade intensifies the flavors even more.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup soy sauce
5 fresh rosemary sprigs
5 garlic cloves, halved
10 to 12 chicken drumsticks
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Combine the balsamic vinegar, honey, brown sugar, soy sauce, rosemary sprigs, and garlic cloves in a large, resealable plastic bag. Shake and squeeze the contents of the bag to dissolve the honey and the brown sugar. Add the chicken drumsticks to the bag and seal, squeezing out as much air from the bag as possible. Marinate in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

    Step 2

    Preheat the oven to 450°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.

    Step 3

    Remove the chicken drumsticks from the bag, reserving the marinade, and arrange them on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until the skin is caramelized and very dark in spots, 30 to 35 minutes.

    Step 4

    Meanwhile, place the marinade in a small saucepan. Bring the marinade to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook over low heat until thick, about 15 minutes.

    Step 5

    Use a pastry brush to brush some of the cooked marinade on the cooked chicken. Place the chicken on a serving platter. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds and the chopped parsley.

Reprinted with permission from Giada's Kitchen: New Italian Favorites by Giada De Laurentiis. Copyright © 2008 by Giada De Laurentiis. Published by Crown Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved. Giada De Laurentiis is the star of Food Network's Everyday Italian and Behind the Bash. She attended the Cordon Bleu in Paris, and then worked in a variety of Los Angeles restaurants, including Wolfgang Puck's Spago, before starting her own catering and private-chef company, GDL Foods. The granddaughter of movie producer Dino De Laurentiis, Giada was born in Rome and grew up in Los Angeles, where she now lives.
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