Sticky balsamic chicken drumsticks made on the stove with just 5 ingredients – chicken, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, sugar and garlic. It’s twice as fast as baking drumsticks and glaze is lip smackingly delicious! Watch the cooking video to see how easy it is – and how hopeful Dozer looks that one will come his way…
I take it very personally when people have trouble making a recipe of mine. I take a great deal of care writing and testing recipes before I share them, and you would probably be horrified at the number of beautiful photos I have trashed because I wasn’t happy with the recipe, or because I thought the “fail” risk was too high.
I posted this Balsamic Drumsticks recipe back in April 2015 and a handful of readers have had trouble with it. Specifically, getting the sauce to reduce down to a glaze. It’s not a technically difficult recipe, but it is unique because drumsticks are not usually cooked the stove in a braising liquid that transforms into a glaze and there are a couple of specific steps required to be followed to make this happen.
So I decided to repost this recipe with fresh new photos, even more concise steps and a cooking video. So you can see exactly how to make it. 🙂
These balsamic chicken drumsticks are based on this Sticky Stovetop Chicken recipe that I stumbled across. When I read the recipe, I thought it sounded quite similar to the flavour and method used for Filipino Chicken Adobo (one of my favourite Asian chicken recipes!), except that it is made with drumsticks (and with less ingredients).
This recipe is actually quite genius. I don’t think most people would think to cook drumsticks on the stove, and even if you did, getting a beautiful caramelisation and the glaze is another matter altogether.
I bet most people would never guess it wasn’t baked. Or that there’s only 5 ingredients in this. FIVE.
It’s a fairly classic sweet-sour taste made with a bit of sugar, balsamic and soy sauce. But then you add some water into the pot with the chicken and sauce so by the time the chicken is cooked, the braising liquid reduces down to a thick sticky glaze. And that glaze caramelises which adds even more flavour.
Yummy! Look at it. This is what it looks like straight off the stove.
I remember the first time I made this recipe, I took a bite and thought “Ew, this is terrible”. I stood over the stove with my hands on my hips, head cocked, wondering how I was going to salvage it. I thought back over the recipe. I mean, it only has 5 ingredients in it. And there were rave reviews by people who had tried it. Either all those people have terrible taste in food….or….I stuffed up.
Yep, you guessed it. I stuffed up a 5 ingredient recipe. FIVE INGREDIENTS and I managed to accidentally leave out the most important one – soy sauce.
DUH!
I managed to salvage my embarrassing disaster by taking out the drumsticks and remaking the glaze. And because the salvaged version was so tasty that I thought I had better make it again. I gave myself a big pat on the back for remembering all five ingredients the second time!
Now this is a classic back-pocket recipe of mine.
Sticky chicken – done – with less than 5 minutes of active effort. Can’t ask for much more than that! 🙂 – Nagi x
MORE CHICKEN DRUMSTICK RECIPES
-
Greek Chicken – ideal made with drumsticks instead of thighs
-
Baked Chicken and Rice – make this with drumsticks instead of bone in thighs!
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5 Ingredient Sticky Stove Top Balsamic Drumsticks
Ingredients
- 8 chicken drumsticks (2 lb / 1 kg) (Note 1)
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/3 cup soy sauce (all purpose or light, not dark)
- 3 tbsp sugar (brown)
- 3 garlic cloves , minced
Extra Flavourings (Optional)
- 2 tsp fresh grated ginger
- 2 tbsp Sriracha or 1 tsp red pepper flakes (Note 2)
Garnishes (optional)
- Parsley or shallots/scallions , finely sliced
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients (including Extra Flavourings, if using) in a large skillet/fry pan or pot (Note 3) over medium high heat. The chicken should be in a single layer.
- Bring to boil, turn chicken, then turn down to medium so it simmers energetically but not rapidly. DO NOT cover the pan with a lid.
- Cook for 20 minutes, turning the chicken at 10 minutes.
- At 20 minutes, the chicken should be cooked. Move the chicken to the side of the skillet, propping and stacking them up on the edges of the skillet to clear the surface of the liquid as much as possible so it can reduce.
- Simmer for 5 minutes or until the liquid thickens (consistency of thick pouring cream) and coats the chicken. Keep an eye on the sauce, once it starts to thicken it will reduce quickly, don't let it go too far. Roll the chicken in the glaze.
- Remove the skillet from the stove and stand for 5 minutes - the sauce will thicken slightly more. Roll the chicken in the glaze again, then serve, garnished with parsley or scallions if desired.
- (Note 4)
- Serve, garnished with scallions/shallots if using.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
* Originally posted in April 2015. Reposted with new photos and a cooking video.
LIFE OF DOZER
If you want your daily dose of Dozer, you’ll need to watch the video! He makes a cameo appearance…. 😉
And I just can’t believe it….people mocked me over his robe that I shared at the bottom of the Caramel Slice recipe. “Dogs don’t wear clothes!”, they declared. Boo to them!
Brilliant!! 2 thumbs WAY up!!! Incredibly simple and fast, and beyond delicious! It was a huge hit with everyone ages 7 to 45! And the video was a helpful addition to the recipe. You should start a You Tube Channel, seriously!
I have made this recipe countless times. One of our favorites from this wonderful website – my favorite recipe website! Any suggestions on cooking it in an InstantPot??
Oh I haven’t tried just yet Leah!
Great taste and super easy to make!!!! :)My sauce didn’t reduce so well, was still a bit runny. I then mixed a tablespoon of wheatflour/cornstarch with little bit of water and added this to the sauce to thicken. This is after I first took out the drumsticks. When it was the required consistency, I added the drumsticks again.
A definite must on my meal planner 🙂
Sounds like you nailed it Astrid!
I’ve made this recipe many times and all of my children love it- from the toddler to the teens! Also- we are not ‘chicken on a bone’ eaters, but this recipe is an exception. Thank you for a delicious recipe!
Wahoo, I’m so glad it was a hit Christina!
Beautiful, rich glaze. Delicious, sweet and tangy. So easy to make. Thx 😊
You’re so welcome Cynthia, I’m so glad you loved it!!!
Really delicious and fast! This is a go to recipe from now on!
Nagi,
Thank you for such a quick and delicious dish. You had me at 5 ingredients and one pot.
My son loved it last night, I’m cooking it again tonight. Another winner. I made your stuffing wrapped in pancetta, wow, it was fabulous. You are now my go-to chef.
Sandra
Thanks so much Sandra, I love hearing what people think of my recipes!
Nagi,
Thank you for another great recipe. I made these last night and my son loved them. I will be making them again tonight your recipe had me a 5 ingredients and one pot. Another winner
Hi Nagi! Love your recipes! I have made this recipe twice, once successfully and once not so much. The difference was in the balsamic. As you know, they are far from created equal. When I used the cheaper, watery brand, it took much longer to reduce and was never really the proper consistency. With a better, thicker (read – more expensive) brand, it came out exactly as described.
Made this for the first time and it was a hit. Really appreciated the truth in advertising. It truly is easy and quick and it tasted great! I added sesame seeds since we’re fans, and had to make a switch-a-roo at last min because after I started putting the ingredients together I realized I didn’t have brown sugar on hand, so ended up using white sugar. It turned out delicious anyway. Already have request from fam to cook this again soon. THANK YOU for this fab recipe!!
Delicious recipe! I have drumsticks cooking now and this is my third time using this recipe on about three weeks. I added a bit of Worcestershire sauce and did have to cook them way longer than 25 minutes, but other than that, this recipe is a keeper!
That’s great Tiffany! Thanks for letting me know! – N x ❤️
I would love to make this recipe, what can be used to substitute balsamic vinegar?
I’m afraid I don’t know, it’s a key ingredient here! Sorry!
I ended using balsamic vinaigrette dressing and that worked! Chicken was amazing!
WOW! This was crazy easy and crazy delicious! Made this tonight and every had seconds- including my 1 year old and 3 year old. The sauce is a little salty, but a little goes a long way. And the video was very helpful!
Love hearing that Emily! Thanks for sharing your feedback! N x ❤️
I add a small amount amount of sesame oil in this as well and it transforms it and makes it even better it that is possible.. house favorite!!
Glad you enjoyed this Emily!!! Thank you for taking the time to leave feedback! N x
Very, very tasty! I used low sodium soy sauce to reduce the sodium intake and saltiness which worked great! In my opinion, it could have used a little more sweetness so I definitely recommend doubling the brown sugar and also adding a tsp. of Worcester sauce (if on hand) to sweetly zing it up a bit. Like another reviewer, I had to cook mine longer than stated but this can easily be checked by cuttting into the chicken near the end (if a food thermometer’s not available).
To complete the meal, this dish couples perfectly with white rice and al dente steamed broccoli & carrots. My fiance absolutely loved it! This recipe is a winner! 😁
That’s great Shannon! So pleased you enjoyed this, thanks for letting me know! N x
I’ve never been a huge fan of drumsticks, but this is a game-changer. I added the sriracha, and the spicy, sticky sauce was excellent. It took 15 or 20 minutes to reduce the sauce, but it was well worth it.
Fantastic to hear Randy! Thanks for letting me know! N x ❤️
Thank you! This was tasty, but a little too salty for my taste. Also, I cooked my chicken a smidge longer, but it was still pink at the bone. (I should have used a thermometer as suggested.)
hi CB! Any chance your stove runs a little cool?? The cook time for this recipe should be more than sufficient to cook the chicken to pretty tender@
So…I bought some chicken legs Then I realized in all my 30 years of cooking-I’ve never cooked chicken legs (lol.) Googled it and came up with a recipe I thought I would like. This was the one and after making it I knew I had made the right choice. It was totally awesome. Thank you. Pinned.
LOVE hearing that Terry!!! So glad you enjoyed it! N x
This is the best drumstick recipe I’ve yet to come across! I only had 5 drums on hand and after it was finished I really wished I had more. My husband only likes drumsticks that are sticky and saucy, and this certainly fit the bill. I added sriracha to mine and the flavor was so wonderful. Slightly spicy, slightly sweet, slightly tangy. I will definitely be making this again as it’s so quick and easy. I did have to increase the temperature of my simmer after watching the video. On my stove, it was on a medium high.
I’m so pleased to hear you enjoyed this Anjelica! Thanks so much for letting me know! N x ❤️
I used maple syrup instead of sugar and added in two birds eye chili and it came out sour, sticky, hot and spicy delicious. Can’t wait to try this on wings.