Ricardo’s Maple-Glazed Drumsticks

Today is the last day of March and the weather is not very Spring-like in Ontario. It actually snowed today in southern Ontario. It is hard to believe that Easter is this weekend. There are those key main ingredients when I think of an Easter dinner: Ham, turkey or leg of lamb are the traditional choices.

I was pleasantly surprised when I was approach by Ricardo’s team to review a recipe from the Easter category on my website. The Ricardo’s Cuisine website has an enormous selection of recipes for any occasion and daily dinners, plus the level of difficulty ranges from very quick easy to more elaborate and technical recipes.

Ricardo’s Cuisine has 139 Delicious Easter Dinner & Dessert Recipes which offers many unique choices for a complete Easter dinner. Ricardo’s Cuisine has also made it easy with an Easter Meal Planner that includes Ricardo’s Favorite Easter Menu.

There were so many recipes to choose from the Easter section alone. There are some very Canadian and Québécois recipes such as Daniel Vézina’s Maple Sugar Pie which include lots of maple syrup. ❤  I wanted to attempt the Bell Pepper and Asparagus Tart and the Cream of Asparagus Soup with Parmesan and Poached Eggs. But in this short time frame, and I wanted to choose a recipe that would be Dinner Tonight for the 5 o’clock rush.

I chose to review Maple-Glazed Drumsticks which is a simple non-traditional Easter recipe.

I think the recipe for the Maple-Glazed Drumsticks is very simple and cost-effective for a large Easter gathering or would be great for any occasion such as a potluck or buffet. This recipe could easily be adapted for wings and would be awesome in the heat of summer on the bbq (still on foiled-lined baking tray or disposable foil tray).

I marinated the chicken legs overnight and I basted them twice during the cooking process. The flavour was a great combination of sweet and tangy. The legs were sticky and the kids enjoyed them and asked for seconds. I served the Maple-Glazed Drumsticks with Basmati Rice with mixture of melted butter and coconut oil and sweet corn.

Now I want to tackle the Maple Pull-Apart Bread Recipe because the kids favourite ‘big name grocery store’ maple bread is always out of stock and this would be a great replacement. 😉

Ricardo’s Maple-Glazed Drumsticks Recipe

Prep Time 15 min Cooking Time 45 min Serves 4
Maple-Glazed Drumsticks

My Dinner Plate of Maple-Glazed Drumsticks

Mise En Place

Marinated Chicken Legs

Marinated Chicken Legs

  • 12 chicken drumsticks, with the skin*
  • ½ cup (125 ml) maple syrup
  • ½ cup (125 ml) chili sauce
  • 1/4 cup (60 ml) white wine vinegar
  • 6 cloves garlic, peeled and lightly crushed
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp black pepper

In a glass dish or in a resealable plastic bag, combine all the ingredients except for the drumsticks. Season with salt and pepper. Add the drumsticks and coat well with the marinade. Cover the dish or seal the bag. Refrigerate for 2 to 8 hours.

Marinated Chicken Drumsticks

Marinated Chicken Drumsticks

With the rack in the middle position, preheat the oven to 200 °C (400 °F). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Drain and reserve the drumsticks marinade for basting. Spread the drumsticks on the baking sheet. Bake for about 40 minutes or until the chicken is cooked. Brush the drumsticks with the marinade several times during cooking.

Finish cooking under the broiler for about 5 minutes or until the drumsticks are golden brown. Serve with rice or roasted potatoes and a green vegetable.

Ricardo's Maple-Glazed Drumsticks

My Dinner Plate of Ricardo’s Maple-Glazed Drumsticks

*For a deeper flavour, you can, using the tip of a knife or kitchen shears, make three or four incisions lengthwise in each drumstick before marinating.

The 5 o’clock rush has not been compensated by Ricardo Cuisine for writing this post and all opinions shared are my own.

Always check out my Instagram @the5oclockrush  to see my daily dinners photos.

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Honey Bacon Chicken Cigars

What ingredient always makes a recipe better? BACON! Everything always seems to taste better if you add bacon. 😀

Honey Bacon Chicken Cigars

Servings: 4 | Yield: 22+ chicken cigars
Adapted from Honey Glazed Chicken and Bacon Bites « Kayotic Kitchen
Honey Glazed Chicken Cigars with Bok Choy, Broccoli and Saute Pineapple

Honey Glazed Chicken Cigars with Bok Choy, Broccoli and Saute Pineapple

Continue to the Recipe

Baked “Fried” Chicken & Pumpkin Cheddar Herbed Waffles with A Maple Gravy

I love my CUISINART CANADA Breakfast Central™ Waffle/Omelette Maker WAF-600C  so I was searching for a savoury recipe for waffles that would put it to use. Chicken and waffles is a great southern classic and is a dinner I always wanted to try it on the family. 😉

There are many versions of this classic available on the web. My search began with a chicken that had the attributes of being “fried” but did not involve a molten pot of oil on my stove.  And there are many recipes to cook chicken with a crispy crunchy skin that didn’t involve a deep fryer. But the thought of a Maple Gravy in this recipe that I adapted below had my taste buds curious.

Baked Fried 😉 Chicken & Pumpkin Cheddar Herbed Waffles with a Maple Gravy

 Adapted from Oven Fried Chicken & Waffles with Maple Gravy
Baked Fried Chicken and Pumpkin Herbed Cheddar Waffles with Maple Gravy

Baked Fried Chicken and Pumpkin Herbed Cheddar Waffles with Maple Gravy

 

Baked “Fried” Chicken Ingredients:

    • 1 cup buttermilk
    • 1 whole chicken, cut into 6 pieces (breasts, thighs, legs)
    • 1 cup all-purpose flour
    • 1/3 cup cornmeal
    • 1/2 teaspoon salt
    • 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
    • 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
    • finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
    • Cooking spray

      Battered Chicken Pieces on baking rack

Place chicken and buttermilk in a container, cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Set a wire rack on the baking sheet and coat it with cooking spray.

Whisk together the remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Place this flour mixture in a paper bag or large sealable plastic bag. Place one piece of chicken in the bag and toss to coat. Shake off excess flour and place the chicken on the prepared rack. Repeat with remaining chicken pieces. Discard any leftover flour mixture and buttermilk marinade. Lightly coat chicken with cooking spray.

Bake at 425°F for 30 minutes; turn the pan and bake 20 minutes longer, or until chicken is brown and crispy. The chicken was incredibly moist and tender.

Pumpkin Cheddar Herbed Waffle Ingredients:

    • 2 cups all-purpose flour
    • 2 tablespoons sugar
    • 2 teaspoons baking powder
    • 1 teaspoon baking soda
    • 1/2 teaspoon salt
    • 2 cups buttermilk
    • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
    • 1/4 cup of canned pumpkin puree
    • 1 cup of grated cheddar cheese
    • chopped fresh chives
    • 2 large eggs
    • Cooking spray, for waffle iron

      Mmmm Waffles

      Mmmm Waffles

Preheat the waffle iron to medium-high heat.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, grated cheddar cheese, and salt; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together buttermilk, butter, pumpkin puree, chives and eggs; add the flour mixture, and mix until batter is combined. Do not over mix – there should still be some lumps.
Spray preheated waffle iron with cooking spray. Spoon a ladle full of batter approx.1/4 cup into the waffle iron and close the lid. Cook until golden brown about 4-5 minutes. Serve immediately or keep warm for a few minutes in a low heated oven.

 

Maple Gravy Ingredients:

    • 3 tablespoons butter
    • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour or Robin Hood ® Easy Blend
    • 1-3/4 cups chicken stock made from bones from chicken carcass
    • Salt and pepper to taste
    • 1/2 cup pure maple syrup

Make a roux.

Start by melting the 3 tablespoons of butter in a pan over medium heat.

When the butter melts and turns frothy, stir in the 3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour. You can use either a wooden spoon or a whisk.

As you continue to stir flour into the butter, you’ll see that a thick paste is forming stir constantly 2-3 minutes until flour turns golden brown. Slowly whisk in heated stock. Over medium-high heat, bring to a boil, stirring constantly until gravy thickens (about 10 minutes). Season with salt and pepper to taste, then stir in syrup. Reduce heat to low until ready to serve.

TO ASSEMBLE CHICKEN & WAFFLES: Cut waffles into halves or fourths. Stack waffle sections and top with chicken pieces then drizzle with copious amounts of maple gravy. Garnish with fresh chopped thyme and/or chives, if desired.

Finished dinner

Assembled Chicken and Waffles dinner