Sticky Orange Chicken Drumsticks

Regular readers (hi team!) will know I am all about dinner recipes with big punchy flavours and minimum effort. Today’s recipe ticks all those boxes, and I am so excited to share it with you: Sticky Orange Chicken Drumsticks!

These drumsticks are smothered in a finger-licking-good sticky orange sauce with the perfect balance of sweet, salty, and a little spicy. Served with a big pot of fluffy rice and some green beans, this is truly a winner of a chicken dinner.

Ingredients

For my Sticky Orange Chicken Drumsticks, you’ll need the following main ingredients:

• Chicken: The most important part! Drumsticks are a super frugal cut of meat, and they are LOADED with flavour and goodness. They are also almost impossible to overcook, so they are brilliant for novice chefs. No drumsticks or don’t fancy getting your hands dirty? Switch them out for skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs, cut-up chicken legs or a whole chicken, portioned.
• Orange: We have a double whammy of orange flavour in this recipe: fresh orange slices that roast with the chicken (so good!) and the secret ingredient: orange marmalade! This forms the base of the sticky sauce. Use unwaxed, organic oranges; you can eat the whole thing, skin and all. 
• Garlic, Shallots, and green onions: These provide the base notes of the sauce. No shallots? Use red onions instead.
• Ginger and Chilli: Fresh ginger and chilli or red pepper flakes give the sauce a punchy kick. If you like it extra spicy, dial these ingredients up. You could add a little more of an Asian flavor by adding 1/2 tsp of five-spice powder. 
• Soy Sauce and Dijon Mustard: Add an irresistible umami base note to the sauce. No Dijon? Whole grain or even plain yellow mustard are great too!
• Lime juice: A slight tartness to balance out all the fabulous flavours. You can leave it out and squeeze over a touch of lemon juice when you take the drumsticks out of the oven if you can’t get lime.

Instructions

I told you this is an easy orange chicken recipe, and it is!

1. First, heat your oven to 200C / 400F / Gas 6, line a large baking dish with foil, and then baking parchment paper. You’ll thank me for this later, as cleaning burnt-on sugar from your baking pans is a huge pain.
2. Next, cut some deep slashes into the drumsticks to let the flavour really sink in, then place the drumsticks in a single layer in the baking dish. Surround them with sliced orange and shallots, drizzle with oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Roast the chicken for 25 minutes while you prepare the sauce and sides.
3. The sauce is super simple! Stir together all the ingredients until nice and smooth. When the chicken has roasted for 25 minutes, spoon the sauce generously over each drumstick, then return to the oven for a further 30 minutes until bubbling and golden brown. Orange glaze not browning enough? Give it a blast under the broiler, but keep a close eye on it; sugar burns quickly.
4. Serve with fluffy white rice and green beans, sprinkled with spring onions and sesame seeds. I guarantee there will be none left!

Try my never-fail rice cooking method in this recipe!

Frequently Asked Questions

Sticky Orange Chicken Drumsticks Recipe

Sticky Orange Chicken Drumsticks

Jay Wadams

Gloriously golden and Smothered in a tangy and spicy marmalade sauce, my Sticky Orange Chicken Drumsticks are seriously finger-lickin’ good! Serve with fluffy rice and green beans for a tasty and satisfying meal for the whole family.

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5 from 2 votes

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 50 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr

Serves 4

Ingredients

 

MetricU.S. Customary

for the chicken:

• ▢ 1 kg chicken drumsticks
• ▢ 1 orange, organic / unwaxed
• ▢ 4 shallots
• ▢ 1 Tbsp olive oil
• ▢ Sea salt and black pepper

for the sticky sauce:

• ▢ 4 Tbsp orange marmalade
• ▢ 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• ▢ 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
• ▢ 2 Tbsp fresh ginger, finely grated
• ▢ 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• ▢ 2 tsp lime juice
• ▢ 1 tsp cornstarch
• ▢ ½ tsp chilli flakes

to serve:

• ▢ Small bunch spring onions, green onion, sliced
• ▢ 1 tsp sesame seeds
• ▢ Fluffy white rice
• ▢ Green beans

Instructions

 

• PREPARE: Heat the oven to 200C / 400F / Gas 6. Line a large baking dish with aluminum foil and then baking parchment paper.
• ROAST CHICKEN: Cut a couple of deep diagonal slices in each drumstick, then arrange the chicken pieces in a single layer in the prepared baking dish. Slice the orange and place it around the drumsticks. Peel and quarter the shallots and add to the baking dish. Season well with salt and pepper, drizzle over the olive oil and roast for 30 minutes.
• MAKE THE SAUCE: While the chicken is roasting, whisk all of the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside. If you are using bitter marmalade, you may like to add a little honey or brown sugar.
• ADD THE SAUCE: Take the chicken from the oven and spoon the sauce evenly over each drumstick. Return to the oven and roast for a further 25-30 minutes until golden brown and cooked through.
• SERVE: Scatter the chicken with sesame seeds, sliced spring onions and serve with fluffy white rice and green beans.

Notes

Please don’t skip the double layer of foil and packing parchment paper in the baking dish; it makes for super easy cleanup, and nothing is more annoying at the end of the night than having to do the dishes and finding burnt-on sugar on your pans. Trust me!

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Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 253kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 29mg | Sodium: 540mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 20g

Tried this recipe?Leave a review or a star rating and let me know how it was! Use the hashtag #daysofjay on Instagram so I can see your delicious creations.

Course | Main Event

Cuisine | Asian

Ⓒ | Jay Wadams