Slow Cooker Sweet & Sticky Drumsticks

June 3, 2019 Frank Mastrandrea Comments 0 Comment

“Sweet” and “sticky” are not normally words you associate with foods in a typical weight loss program. But at under 120 calories per drumstick (and only 5 grams of sugar each), pairing a couple of these wings with some roasted vegetables makes an appealing alternative for anyone looking for a tasty, healthy meal planning option. Because they’re eaten without the skin, they heat up great as leftovers too, making them a useful option for dinner and lunch throughout the week.

Ingredients

10 chicken drumsticks
1 medium/large yellow onion
1 tbsp, paprika
1 tbsp, chili powder
1 tsp, onion powder
1 tsp, garlic powder
1 tsp, pepper
1 tsp, salt
1 tsp, thyme leaves
3 tbsp, clover honey
3 tbsp, light brown sugar
2 tbsp, ketchup

Prep Work: Chop & Mix

With any recipe that requires you to touch raw meat, you want to try to accomplish as many steps prior to handling the meat as possible, so as to avoid the possibility of cross-contamination.

First, peel and slice the onion into approximately one-inch slices. Once done, spread the onion in the bottom of your slow cooker.

Next, mix up the spice rub by combining the paprika, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper and thyme. Set aside.

Finally, mix the honey, brown sugar and ketchup together. Stir well with a spoon until smooth. Set that aside as well.

The onion, sliced
Mix the spices well, set aside
Stir the sauce until well-blended

Preparing the Chicken

The health benefits of not eating the skin of the chicken drumstick pair well with the fact that when using a slow cooker, the skin will not attain that crispy texture that makes it otherwise so appetizing.

For both of these reasons, the first step in preparing the chicken is to pull back the skin from each of the drumsticks. There is no need to use a knife or kitchen scissors for the task, it can be easily done with the fingers. And the goal is not to completely remove the skin, just to expose as much of the meat as possible.

The chicken with skin
The chicken with the skin pulled down by hand

Time to Get Your Hands Dirty

I’m not sure if there’s a way to do this without getting messy, if someone has a suggestion, leave it in the comments. But the next step is to take the spice rub and well coat the meat of all the drumsticks.

Rub it in to each one of them and try to use up all of the rub if you can. The idea with that amount of rub is that you may well have more than you need, so don’t worry if you have a bit leftover. The worst result is not having enough, though, so that’s why this amount works well and even if you do have some left over the first time you make it, I would not recommend making any less the next time.

Slow Cooker Sweet & Sticky Chicken — The chicken coated with the rub

Sauce and Cook

Next, dip each wing into the sauce and place dipped side down into the slow cooker on top of the onions.

Once all 10 wings are in the slow cooker, brush the remaining sauce over all the exposed areas of the wings. Focus on the meat but also paint the skin, as the fat will melt and flavor the onions.

Set the slow cooker on low, cover and cook for eight hours. Chicken should be at an internal temperature of 165 degrees, and after that amount of time it should be no issue. Depending on your cooker it could be done in as little as six hours.

Serving Suggestions

We’ve typically found two drums with some of the onions and a side vegetable makes a nice meal, but obviously even three is still under 350 calories.

The skin is not to be eaten, and can be easily discarded after cooking.

Oh and be careful when removing the drumsticks from the slow cooker, as often the meat is so tender that it literally is falling off of the bone!