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How to Cook Chicken Leg Quarters in the Oven

You have friends and family coming over to your place tonight, and you’re thinking of cooking oven-baked chicken legs as the main dish for dinner, but you have no idea how to cook it. If you’ve always wanted to make this recipe, but you think it’s too difficult or complex to cook, worry no more.

Chicken legs are very easy to cook once you follow the easy steps and tips we have for you in this article. If your goal is to achieve very satisfactory chicken leg quarters for your whole family to enjoy, ensure you pay enough attention to the cooking instructions, tips, and guidelines below.

How To Cook Chicken Leg Quarters In The Oven

Tips for Cooking Chicken Leg Quarters in Oven

Defrost your chicken – before you begin the seasoning process of the chicken, put it on the counter or in a big bowl after you’ve taken it out from the refrigerator. Leave the chicken to defrost at room temperature to make them warmer, moist, and fresh. This also helps the chicken to be less tough when in the oven and to cook faster.

Use some vinegar – to wash the chicken, it’s best to soak them in vinegar and scrub clean with halved lime pieces. This removes every bit of lingering dirt in your chicken. When you’re satisfied with how clean your chicken is, pat it dry with a kitchen towel.

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You can make your own rub – using Rub to season and marinate your chicken is mandatory. Whether you prefer store-bought rub, or want homemade rub, it’s completely up to you. You can make your rub at home using just a few ingredients, and it’s sure to be equivalent to or even better than most store-bought rubs.

Separate the skin – before you start seasoning your chicken, gently separate the skin from the meat with your fingers. You are essentially creating a pocket where you can tuck in seasonings and oil. This allows the inside of the chicken to be tender and juicy while the skin becomes crisp.

How to get a juicier chicken – to ensure your chicken has a ton of flavor and juiciness, leave it to marinate overnight in the refrigerator. This helps the chicken to absorb the dry rub. It also helps the chicken legs to develop a crispier skin on the outside, locking in all those juices in the chicken which makes them perfectly tender and savory on the inside when ready.

Great side dishes to try – they’re a ton of amazing side dishes you can add to your chicken making them more delicious to eat. A major side dish to use would be salads, it’s incredibly tasty when eaten with chicken. You can also use rice, baked beans, roasted potatoes, or even pasta. You can also your favorites for dinner, as long as there’s chicken to go with it, your meal is sure to taste delicious, trust me.

Making some gravy – having gravy with the chicken quarters is absolutely amazing to the taste buds. You don’t have to use just the chicken juices for gravy; you can be a little extra with your food. Keep in mind that you can make gravy using just a handful of seasonings combined with the juices from the chicken. You can also add heavy cream or yogurt for a tastier gravy.

Cooking Time for Chicken Leg Quarters in the Oven at 350F

Below are the necessary timing guidelines and procedures you should keep in mind when attempting to cook chicken leg quarters in your oven.

Cooking procedure Cooking time
Cooking chicken leg quarters in the oven at 350° F.45 minutes

If you prefer to cook your chicken leg quarters at 400F, see FoodDoodles.com’s chicken leg quarters recipe for instructions.

Yield: 4 servings

Oven-Baked Chicken Leg Quarters (2 to 4 servings)

How To Cook Chicken Leg Quarters In The Oven

This recipe for chicken leg quarters is very easy to follow and the results are just superb. This is a meal you and your family are sure to love and you might catch yourself cooking it more than once in a week!

Ingredients

  • 5 lbs. of chicken leg quarters
  • 1 tbsp of garlic powder
  • 1 tbsp of onion powder
  • 1 tbsp of thyme
  • 1 tbsp of rosemary
  • 1 tbsp of ground black pepper
  • ½ tbsp of paprika
  • ½ tbsp of dry parsley
  • 1 tbsp of sazon goya
  • ½ tbsp of salt
  • ½ tbsp of adobo seasoning
  • 1 tbsp of olive oil or melted butter

Instructions

  1. In a bowl, mix all the dry seasonings with a fork.
  2. Pat your chicken dry with a paper towel. Gently separate the skin from the meat in a few places. Using your fingers, spread the olive oil or melted butter between the skin and meat. Coat the outside of the chicken as well.
  3. Rub the dry seasoning rub all over the chicken, including under the skin. Massage the chicken with the oil and seasonings.
  4. Place the chicken on a baking sheet and cover the entire sheet with plastic wrap. Return the chicken to the refrigerator for 2 to 3 hours or overnight.
  5. Preheat your oven to 350° F or 177° C and bake for 45 minutes. Check the temperature with a meat thermometer. It needs to be 165° F or 74° C.

This recipe for chicken leg quarters is very easy to follow and the results are just superb. This is a meal you and your family are sure to love and you might catch yourself cooking it more than once in a week!

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 1126Total Fat: 58gSaturated Fat: 16gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 35gCholesterol: 728mgSodium: 1559mgCarbohydrates: 6gFiber: 2gSugar: 0gProtein: 137g

Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.

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