RM2- Day 4- Chicken Drummettes Lollipop

When you say the name of this dish aloud, it sounded to me like those toys of little soldiers with drums and sticks singing their song:) ..........maybe its because of the word Drummettes and Lollipop :) .... Drummettes are the mini drumsticks you get from the wing part of the chicken.

This is my Day 4 entry for Recipe Marathon 2. I made these for a potluck recently and the plate on which it was served was emptied within an hour of serving it !
This was also the first time I used the broil setting in my gas oven. I have to say, its only when you try something new , will you know what you were missing all this time. And that was what I realised when I used the broil setting. Not much mess to clean, less oil used , so healthier than the deep fried version, and food gets cooked fast, and the most important, I loved the look of the Chicken drummettes after they were fully done. Especially the well done look when you do it on charcoal , the ones you get when you order tandoori chicken in restaurants. I was proud to accomplish that in my kitchen and should I say how much glad V was , when he was the first one to taste (as always, lol) my new ventures in kitchen :)

This is how I made Chicken Drummettes Lollipop:

Ingredients:

Chicken Drummettes (I did not get drummettes in a package, so I bought the entire packet of chicken wings and cut the drummettes from the wings) - 10 drummettes

Aluminium foil : To use as a baking foil on top of the grill plate. I cut small portions of these foil after I broiled the chicken on them to cover the exposed bone area of the chicken drummettes to give a nice finish to the chicken drummettes :) Its worth the effort to do that if you want to impress other people :) Also less mess on hands while eating these lollipops :)

Marinade :

3 whole tablespoons yogurt
Grind to a paste- a few bunches of coriander leaves, mint leaves, ginger, garlic, green chillies
Onion powder - 1 tablespoon
Garlic powder - 1 teaspoon
Tandoori masala paste - 2 teaspoons
Red chilli powder - 1 teaspoon (or more if you want them extra spicy)
Oil - 2 tablespoons
Salt - to taste
Freshly ground pepper - 1 teaspoon
Fennel powder - 1 teaspoon

The above picture is the left over wing portion that I marinated along with the drummettes. It was a good difference from the regular Buffalo wing flavor this time.

Method:

a)Preparing the drummettes for lollipop:

Hold the small end of the drummette, and then cut a small incision and insert knife in that incision to further widen the cut and pull the meat away from the bone a bit, also , scrape and push meat down along the bone towards the thick end. Pull skin and meat over the end of the bone to look like a lollipop. Or in other words, cut, pull, scrape the meat from the thinner part of the drummet towards the chunky part until the bone area around the thinner area is exposed so that the drummette resembles a lollipop. When all the drummettes are prepared this way, they look like lollipops :)

b) Marinate the drummettes in a mixture of the marinade, overnight in the refrigerator.

c) Take the drummettes out of the refrigerator at least 1/2 hour before broiling. Line the broiling tray with aluminium foil. Spray some oil on the sheet to prevent sticking of food at the end. Set the oven to broil mode or according to the instruction on your oven manual.

d) Arrange the drummettes on the aluminium foil, a little space between each drummette. Spray a little oil on each drummette before they go into the oven. Broil them on one side until they change color to the well formed black areas on the surface, be sure not to burn them altogether. Turn them over and again broil them until all sides cook evenly. For me it took approximately 30 minutes to finish cooking the drummettes in two batches (I had also marinated the left over wing portion of the drummettes along with the lollipops).

c) Preparing the lollipop : (The aluminium foil can be changed while broiling in batches if they are too messy.) But don't yet discard the not-so-messy parts of the aluminium foil used for broiling. Cut them in small squares and wrap them around the stick part of the lollipop as I have done in the pictures here.

d) If you are preparing it ahead of time like I did, store it preferably in a aluminium tray (the ones you get for cheap in market), cover with aluminium, prick some holes with a knife and keep it in warm oven. Before serving, remove the aluminum cover and broil the chicken until you hear the sizzling sounds coming from the oven. Maybe it will take around 5-10 minutes. Sprinkle some lemon juice and serve :)


I hope you will also enjoy this when you prepare.

Don't forget to check out what my Marathon buddies are up to in their kitchen on Day 4 of Recipe Marathon :-)

1) DK

2) Siri

3) Srivalli

5)PJ

6)Curry Leaf

7)Medha

8)Priya

9)Bhawna

10)Raaji

11)Ruchii

12)Anu

13)Kamala

14)Ranji

15)Divya Kudua

16)Rekha

17)Divya M

18)Lakshmi

19)Raaga

20)Lakshmi Venkatesh