Baked chicken lollipops

Baked chicken lollipops are almost as good as smoked chicken lollipops.  They are one of my favourite recipes to make when I have guests over.  They are succulent buttery balls of meat that come with a handle to eat.  If you don’t have a smoker though, they are almost as good if you make them in the oven.  This is the method I use to make baked chicken lollipops in the oven. I prefer smoking them, but this makes an appetiser almost as good.

I use my salt free smoky chicken rub, mixed with kosher salt in this recipe.  If you are using an off the shelf chicken rub, omit the salt, and use directly.

Note:

Some recipes for chicken lollipops required you to remove the small bone inside of the chicken drumstick.  I have done this, but I have found that the amount of work required to remove the bone is not worth the pay off.  If you really want to impress your guests, removing the small bone may be worth it, but I usually skip it.  The same goes for the tendons inside of the chicken.  Many recipes say to remove them, but I tend to only clean up the tendons that stick out of the ball of chicken meat.

Print Recipe

Baked chicken lollipops Yum

Succulent buttery balls of meat that come with a handle to eat.

Course

Appetizer, Main Dish

Cuisine

American

Keyword

Chicken

Prep Time

30 minutes

Cook Time

105 minutes

Servings

24 drumsticks

Ingredients

• 24 chicken drumsticks
• 4 teaspoons Salt Free Smoky Barbecue Chicken Rub
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 stick butter

Course Appetizer, Main Dish Cuisine American Keyword Chicken Prep Time 30 minutes Cook Time 105 minutes Servings 24 drumsticks Ingredients 24 chicken drumsticks 4 teaspoons Salt Free Smoky Barbecue Chicken Rub 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1 stick butter

Instructions

Preparing to make the lollipops

1. If using a salt free chicken rub, mix the chicken rub and salt together, and set aside. If you are using an off the shelf rub, you can skip this step.
2. Cut 24 pieces of foil into squares roughly 4 inches by 4 inches in size.

Clean the chicken drumsticks

1. Using a sharp paring knife, cut around the small end of the drumstick making sure to cut through all the ligaments and skin.

   
2. Remove the knuckle and any cartilage from the small end of the drumstick. If it is too slippery, you may need to use a kitchen towel to grip it better.

   
3. With the knuckle removed, use your finger to separate the remaining meat from the bone on the chicken drumstick. Leave the meat attached at the end of the drumstick, but loosen up the meat around the middle part as best as you can.

   
4. With the meat loosened, pull the meat down towards the bottom, and ball it up.

   
5. Place the chicken in a disposable foil tray.

   
6. Repeat this process for all the remaining drumsticks.

   

Foiling and seasoning the chicken

1. Take on of the drumsticks, and wrap the foil around the bare bone, making sure to cover the exposed bone.

   
2. Season the chicken with the chicken rub.
3. Place the chicken, meat side down into the disposable foil tray. I use a 8x11 foil tray that fits 24 drumsticks well. You can use smaller trays if you need to, but you will need to use more than one. If the tray is too large, you can ball up some foil to hold the chicken drumsticks so they stand up.
4. Repeat this process for the remaining chicken drumsticks.

   
5. Cut the stick of butter into small pieces, roughly a half a tablespoon to a tablespoon each. Place the butter on to the chicken, spreading around as evenly as possible.

   

Cooking the chicken

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350°F.
2. Place the tray of chicken in the oven, and cook for 45 minutes.
3. Remove the tray from the oven.
4. Remove the chicken drumsticks from the tray, and place on a baking sheet with a rack.
5. Continue to cook the chicken for an additional 45 minutes to an hour.
6. Remove the chicken once it reaches 175°F to 180°F.

Preparing the chicken to serve

1. Remove the foil wrapping from the chicken, and serve.

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