Chicken recipes are always a crowd pleaser. We have another tasty one to add to your recipe collection. File this one under → Recipes Guaranteed To Wow The Kids!
Follow along with September 2021 Featured Chef Katie Kimball‘s Easy Butter Ranch Chicken Drumsticks down below.
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Drumsticks are the least expensive chicken option when you’re on a budget, and they’re so easy to make. It’s the perfect meal for busy families!
We keep it simple with a bit of fat, seasoning, and parchment paper during roasting for easy clean-up.
And of course kids love eating with their hands and no utensils, so be sure to offer fun dips and enjoy watching your kiddos eat a balanced meal. Serve with beef tallow French fries and a side veggie to complete the meal!
Easy Butter Ranch Chicken Drumsticks
Recipe By: Katie Kimball | Kids Cook Real Food
USWM Shopping List: Butter, Ranch Mix, Chicken Drumsticks
Ingredients:
- 3-4 Tbs. butter
- 3-4 Tbs. olive oil
- 1 Tbs. ranch mix (homemade recipe here)
- 1/2-1 tsp. salt
- 5-6 pounds chicken drumsticks (about 18-20 pieces)
Method:
- We tested rinsing and drying the drumsticks vs. just putting them on the rack, as one recipe said drying the chicken off helped it be more crispy…I’d say it was pretty much the same!
- Preheat the oven to 450F.
- Prepare a large rimmed cookie sheet with a piece of parchment paper (optional, but your dishes crew will thank you) and an oven-safe rack to provide air flow around the drumsticks.
- Lay out the drumsticks on the rack.
- Smash the butter and olive oil together with the ranch mix. (If your butter isn’t soft, mash it in your hands while it’s still in the wrapper a little bit.)
- Pinch bits of the butter mixture in your fingers and rub all over the drumsticks, trying to get as much under the skin as possible.
- If you have an aversion to touching raw chicken, you could melt the butter and oil together over low heat and brush it on the chicken (start by cutting the amounts in half, because you probably will lose a lot running off the meat if you have a full half cup of fat). Then sprinkle the ranch mix as evenly as possible over the chicken.
- Bake the chicken for 30-35 minutes until a meat thermometer reads 165F internally and the juices run clear. (We had 3 larger sticks that needed about 40 minutes.) For even crisping of skin, turn over after 20 minutes.
Explore other tasty kitchen creations on the Discover Blog.
Katie Kimball
Katie Kimball is the voice of healthy kids cooking, working to restore the health of our young generation one kitchen at a time. She’s a cookbook author, Certified Stress Mastery Educator, and regular TV contributor who has shared her journey to real food and natural living for 12 years at Kitchen Stewardship, a blog that helps families stay healthy without going crazy. Along with her 4 children, she created the Kids Cook Real Food eCourse to help other parents teach their kids to cook, build family connection in the kitchen, and supercharge kids’ confidence and creativity. In 2020 the Wall Street Journal recommended Kids Cook Real Food as the best online cooking class for kids. She is actively masterminding the Kids’ Meal Revolution, with a goal of every child being able to cook.
