Spicy Maple Bacon Chicken Drumsticks make for sticky fingers and happiness. Easy enough for a weeknight, flavorful enough for game day and delicious enough for a comfort-food gathering.
Canada is pretty famous for their maple syrup, and I like bacon and chicken – bam! I give you some really good spicy maple bacon chicken.
The Canadian provence of Quebec is the largest producer of maple syrup in the world. Not to say Vermont isn't up there! They are the largest producers in the United States.
These spicy maple bacon chicken drumsticks won’t last long because they are melt-in-your mouth good! A little maple glaze on the bacon and a kick of Tabasco make these drumsticks irresistible. You don't need anything special either. Grab that maple syrup you use for breakfast, and the Tabasco in the door of your fridge!
This is a one pan meal like my Nachos for a Party. Which I make as dinner all the time! And a weeknight hit like my Ginger Thai Chicken Patties – Talk about having a happy crowd at the dinner table.
Chicken boredom averted!! Thanks to the delectable flavors of maple syrup, hot sauce and salty bacon.
What's the difference between pure maple syrup and pancake syrup?
Use pure maple syrup. Why? Because it's the real stuff, dripped from a maple tree, cooked down to sweet goodness and filtered into that beautiful little bottle. Those pancake syrups are tasty, but imitation maple syrup is pretty much just corn syrup and flavoring. It will create an overly sweet, very sticky situation in this recipe.
You'll see a grade on your syrup, for this recipe it doesn't matter which one you use. Pure maple syrup gets a Grade A and can be various degrees of golden, amber, dark and very dark. As long as it is free of off-flavors and other things and clear of sediment it gets a Grade A.
These spicy maple bacon chicken drumsticks won’t last long because they are melt-in-your mouth good!
What if your chicken drumsticks aren't skinless?
You're welcome to keep the skin on. I don't like it myself, so I pull it off. You can certainly ask your butcher to do it, but it's easy to do yourself. I use a paper towel and simply pull the skin from the drumstick. It takes a little muscle, but the paper towel helps you get a good grip.
📖 Recipe
Spicy Maple Bacon Chicken Drumsticks
Ingredients
- 12 skinless chicken drumsticks
- 12 strips bacon
- ½ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup chopped scallions (white and green parts)
- 2 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
Instructions
- Heat oven to 400ºF. Wrap the tops of each drumstick with a strip of bacon. Place chicken on a foil-lined baking sheet with the end of the bacon strip under the drumsticks.
- Mix together the maple syrup, Tabasco and salt and drizzle half of the mixture over chicken. Roast until the bacon is darkened and chicken is cooked through, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Drizzle or brush remaining maple sauce over hot chicken. Serve sprinkled with scallions and parsley.
Notes
- Use pure maple syrup. Why? Because it's the real stuff, dripped from a maple tree, cooked down to sweet goodness and filtered into that beautiful little bottle. Those pancake syrups are tasty, but imitation maple syrup is pretty much just corn syrup and flavoring. It will create an overly sweet, very sticky situation in this recipe.
Nutrition
More delicious flavors here:
Main Dish Recipes
Be sure to check out these other great international recipes from some of my fellow food bloggers who have posted delicious recipes that are internationally inspired!
- China - Asian Peanut Sesame Noodles
- Ireland - Homemade Irish Cream
- Ireland - Irish Lamb Stew
- Korea -Slow Cooker Korean Beef Short Ribs (Kalbi)
Tara Teaspoon
I’ve been in food publishing for over 25 years, creating recipes & food-styling for magazines, books, television, food brands, & advertising. With two cookbooks under my belt and thousands of my recipes at your fingertips, I hope you'll be inspired to spend more time in the kitchen!
Recipe by Tara Teaspoon. Photography Ty Mecham. Prop styling Veronica Olson.
Mary Bench says
These truly are one of my favorites! I LOVE the maple glaze and they are so easy!
Tara says
Me too. I love the sweet and salty!