Butterfly Drumsticks are one of my favorite chicken recipes. They’re easy to make and even easier to customize. While we usually cook chicken thighs, this recipe offers a delicious change to our regular dinner rotation. Who knew the oven could make chicken legs taste this good?
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The spice rub adds so much flavor to the chicken! With butterflied drumsticks, there's more surface area, allowing the seasoning to penetrate deeper into the meat. Plus, the skin becomes crispy while the meat remains tender.
If you like oven-baked chicken recipes, you will love Crispy Baked Chicken Thighs and Baked Salsa Chicken.
Why You’ll Love This Butterfly Chicken Legs Recipe
- Easy to prepare: All you have to do is slice, season, and put the butterfly drumsticks in the oven.
- Budget-friendly: Chicken legs are very affordable, so this is great for dinner on a tight budget.
- Family favorite: Even kids love these drumsticks. They become so moist on the inside and crispy on the outside in the oven.
- Even cooking: Butterflying the chicken thighs ensures that all of the meat cooks evenly — especially around the bone!
Ingredients
You do not need a lot of ingredients to make succulent butterflied chicken legs. With the right spices and fresh chicken, they will be tasty every time.
- Chicken legs: I typically get a family pack of chicken drumsticks, even if I’m making fewer servings. It’s much more cost-effective. If the chicken legs were frozen, ensure they are fully thawed in the refrigerator before you cut and cook them.
- Seasonings: I use a combination of salt, pepper, Montreal steak seasoning, curry powder, thyme, oregano, paprika, minced onion, garlic powder, onion powder, and Vegeta vegetable seasoning. I love the balance of these when used together. Feel free to omit any of the seasonings you don’t have or don’t like.
- Mustard: I add yellow mustard to help the spice rub to stick to the outside of the chicken legs.
- Oil: Adding oil also helps the chicken skin become crisp and golden brown.
See the recipe card below for exact ingredient amounts, nutritional information, and detailed instructions.
Variations
- Herb and garlic: Use fresh garlic and herbs such as parsley, basil, thyme, and rosemary to add a fresh herbal element to the chicken.
- Spicy: Try this recipe with red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper for a kick. I even like to brush the chicken with spicy BBQ sauce or sriracha.
- Cilantro lime: Give the chicken a citrusy flavor with fresh lime juice, lime zest, and freshly chopped cilantro.
How to Make Butterfly Drumsticks
Here are the instructions on how to butterfly drumsticks and cook them to perfection! To get started, preheat your oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Then, add the seasonings to a small bowl and mix to combine.
Step 1: Butterfly the chicken legs. Use a sharp knife to slice on either end of the bone but not all the way through. Then, make additional cuts on each side of the first ones to “butterfly” the leg meat. Repeat this process for each of the drumsticks.
Step 2: Season and coat the chicken. Place the butterflied drumsticks into a large bowl. Add the oil, mustard, and spice rub. Toss the chicken with your hands to ensure each piece is coated evenly.
Step 3: Arrange the chicken on the baking sheet. Place the seasoned chicken cut side up on the prepared baking sheet in a single layer.
Step 4: Cook. Put the chicken in the oven and bake for about 45 minutes. Flip the chicken legs about halfway through the cooking time.
⭐ Hint: I like to brush my butterflied chicken legs with my favorite barbecue sauce during the last few minutes of cooking. It adds flavor and moisture, and caramelizes in the oven.
If you love easy chicken recipes like this one, you may also enjoy Honey Mustard Chicken Drumsticks, Oregano Chicken, Crockpot Hawaiian Chicken or Crack Chicken Sliders.
Storage Directions
- Refrigeration: Store leftover drumsticks in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. You can also freeze them for up to two months.
- Reheating: For best results, reheat the chicken in the oven or an air fryer at 350°F until warm. If frozen, thaw them in the refrigerator overnight before reheating.
- Make Ahead: Butterfly and season your chicken legs, and store them in the refrigerator for a few hours before cooking them.
Serving Suggestions
- If you are looking for a starch to pair with these butterflied chicken drumsticks, I recommend my Jamaican Rice and Peas, Spaghetti Verde Pasta, and Air Fryer Sliced Potatoes as great options.
- One of my favorite veggies to serve over this chicken is this recipe for Easy Crockpot Mushrooms.
- Brush these drumsticks with Caribbean Jerk Sauce for Caribbean flair and spice.
Expert Tips
- Marinate ahead of time: Butterfly and coat your chicken legs in the mustard and spice rub a couple of hours before you’re ready to cook to infuse more flavor. Store them covered in the refrigerator!
- Cook to 180°F: Dark meat is way more forgiving than white meat. Cook the drumsticks closer to 180°F rather than the usual 165°F for the perfect crispy skin. I promise they will still be juicy.
- Use a sharp knife: Ensure your knife is nice and sharp, so it will make clean cuts as you butterfly the chicken legs.
Recipe FAQs
You sure can! Preheat the air fryer to 375°F and cook them for 8-10 minutes per side. Use a meat thermometer if you aren’t sure if they’re ready!
Of course! Preheat your grill to 400°F and cook them for 5-8 minutes per side (depending on the grill and your desired level of char).
Yes! Thaw them in the refrigerator overnight and dry them thoroughly with paper towels before adding the spice rub.
Video
More Delicious Chicken Dishes
Ready to get cooking? Remember that you can print this recipe if you would like.
Easy Butterfly Drumsticks
Equipment
- rimmed baking sheet possibly 2 depending on number of chicken legs
Ingredients
- 12-16 chicken legs
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon Montreal steak seasoning
- ½ teaspoon curry powder
- ¾ teaspoons thyme leaves
- ½ teaspoon oregano leaves
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon dehydrated minced onion
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon Vegeta vegetable seasoning
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- While the oven is heating, prepare your drumsticks. Rinse the chicken legs and place them in large mixing bowl.
- Holding the end of a chicken leg, slice on either side of the bone as far as you can without slicing entirely through the meat. Ideally you should be cutting away from yourself. Be careful, the chicken is slippery so take your time.
- Once the initial cuts are made, make an additional cut on both sides of your first cuts again do not cut all the way through the meat. This will open the drumstick up and it will be butterflied.
- Once all the pieces are butterflied, grab a large bowl and season with oil, mustard and spice rub. Toss until chicken is coated evenly. I use my hands to do this.
- Place your chicken on the prepared baking sheet with the cut side facing up.
- Cook for 45 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 180°F, flipping halfway through.
Optional
- Once chicken is at temp, brush with barbecue sauce and return to oven if desired for 5-10 minutes and serve.
Video
Notes
- Marinate ahead of time: Butterfly and coat your chicken legs in the mustard and spice rub a couple of hours before you’re ready to cook to infuse more flavor. Store them covered in the refrigerator!
- Cook to 180°F: Dark meat is way more forgiving than white meat. Cook the drumsticks closer to 180°F rather than the usual 165°F for the perfect crispy skin. I promise they will still be juicy.
- Use a sharp knife: Ensure your knife is nice and sharp, so it will make clean cuts as you butterfly the chicken legs.
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