Ultimate Crispy Buttermilk Drumsticks: The Best Ro

1. Place chicken drumsticks in a large resealable freezer bag. Add buttermilk, 1/4 cup oil, maple syrup, peppercorns, salt, taco seasoning, garlic, paprika, cayenne pepper, and liquid smoke. Seal the freezer bag and squish everything in the bag until the drumsticks are coated. Marinate the drumsticks in the refrigerator, 8 hours to overnight.

2. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Line a roasting pan with aluminum foil.

3. Remove drumsticks from the marinade and shake off excess. Place drumsticks in the prepared pan and drizzle with 2 tablespoons oil. Discard the remaining marinade.

4. Roast in the preheated oven until the drumsticks are well browned, about 30 minutes.

Cook’s Notes:

To speed things up, you can marinate the chicken at room temperature for 30 minutes to 2 hours. Please do not leave out longer than 2 hours as bacteria will begin to form.

You may use 1 1/2 teaspoons table salt in place of the 1 tablespoon sea salt, if you prefer. Substitute cumin for the taco seasoning, if you’d like.
* 1 tablespoon taco seasoning or cumin

To ensure optimum juiciness, you can pan-sear each drumstick immediately before roasting. Roast for longer than 30 minutes if you like your drumsticks almost scorched.

Editor’s Note:

Nutrition data for this recipe includes the full amount of marinade ingredients. The actual amount of marinade consumed will vary.