Divas: Get a leg up for game day

The second biggest food festivity next to Thanksgiving, Super Bowl is synonymous with food. Some foods are just customary; like pizza, chili and Buffalo chicken wings. But I’m going to be bold and suggest we ditch the chicken wings this year and swap in chicken legs.

Stay with me. Who wants to nibble on a chicken wing when they can take a big juicy bite out of a chicken leg? Also, chicken legs are much less expensive than wings and the ratio of meat versus bone is way in your favor.

Now, you get to decide what team you’re on. Are you a rebel traditionalist or a total rebel? I’ve got you covered either way. If you’re a rebel traditionalist, you’ll love Buffalo Chicken sauce because it hits all the familiar Buffalo wing notes.

But if you’re a total rebel, let’s upgrade the Buffalo sauce with Sriracha; a popular chili sauce found in the Asian section of the market. These Brown Sugar Sriracha Chicken Legs are crazy good. They’re sweet, spicy, sticky and crunchy. They’re all the things!

Either way, we’ll start with awesome crispy oven-baked chicken legs. The secret is coating the chicken with cornstarch for crispy skin without breading or frying. It also helps the sauce to adhere.

Crispy Chicken Drumsticks

What You’ll Need:

4-5 pounds of chicken drumsticks

Salt and pepper

2 Tablespoons cornstarch

Here’s How:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with foil, and top it with wire racks to keep the chicken up off the baking sheet.

For easy cleaning, spray the racks with cooking spray. Using paper towels, dry each chicken leg and place in a large bowl. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the cornstarch over top, and stir until the drumsticks are evenly coated in cornstarch.

Place the coated chicken legs on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 50 minutes to one hour, until they reach 175°F or until the surface is golden brown and crispy. Meanwhile, pick a sauce team!

Spicy Buffalo Sauce: 1/3 cup butter, 1 teaspoon garlic, minced, 1/3 cup hot wing sauce. Melt the butter in a small saucepan along with the garlic. When the garlic begins to sizzle, add the hot sauce and stir. Set the sauce aside.

Brown Sugar Sriracha Sauce: 1/3 cup butter, 2 Tablespoons brown sugar, 1/3 cup Sriracha. Combine the Sriracha, butter, and brown sugar over low heat in a small saucepan. Heat, stirring until the butter is melted and the sauce is smooth. Set aside.

Finally, when the chicken comes out of the oven, pour the sauce into a bowl large enough to hold all the chicken pieces.

Toss the drumsticks in the spicy sauce until well coated. Use your hands, you can’t be afraid to get messy.

Serve with celery, carrots, perhaps some bleu cheese or ranch dipping sauce and lots of napkins, maybe a dropcloth and don’t wear white!

Whether your team wins or not, spicy chicken legs are a sure winner. Two truths I know for sure: people love football and people love Buffalo and Sriracha flavored food.

Frugal Festivity contributed by Patti Diamond from Divas On A Dime – Where Frugal, Meets Fabulous! Website and blog - www.divasonadime.com Join us on Facebook at DivasOnADimeDotCom.