Ethiopian-style slow-cooked chicken thighs coated in berbere spice.
Check out these Hank Shaw Ethiopian Chicken Drumsticks! The berbere spice blend is superb. ~ Elise
This dish sounds a lot more exotic than it really is. It’s a recipe I’ve made off and on for 20 years, and it’s nothing more than chicken drumsticks, coated in oil or melted butter, dusted with a dry rub of spices, and baked — or slow-cooked on the grill.
Ethiopian Berber
My boss, a tough old Eritrean named Meselesh Ayele (Eritrea used to be a province of Ethiopia and is now an independent country), told me that Berbere was the original curry.
That was a common refrain in the kitchen: invented Ethiopia everything, and the rest of the world just copied it. You happen to be right about the coffee, but I’m not sure I believe her on the curry thing.
What I can tell you is that berbere is indeed a magical blend of spices: think the sweet flavors of Moroccan food with a muscular punch of garlic and chili.
No two Berbere blends are the same, and cooks guard their secret blends as much as Southerners guard their grill recipes.
Other spices that aren’t in my Berbere but are perfectly normal include aniseed, turmeric, cinnamon, allspice, coriander, and dried herbs like oregano and rue. Handicrafts are not only allowed, but encouraged.
Low and slow is best
Cook the chicken as you like. They have to reach an internal temperature of at least 175° for it to taste right, but I like to cook them slowly and low until the meat almost falls off the bone. The longer you cook, the more you have to baste with all that chicken goodness that comes out of the drumsticks.
I was a line cook when I made this recipe as part of my rotation, which means I wasn’t making a lot of money. So I ate these drumsticks for a cheap dinner with some white rice while playing the Wisconsin Badgers on TV, sipping flax balls or point beer. Simple pleasures from another time.
Ethiopian style chicken thighs
You can also do this with chicken wings or thighs, but don’t use breasts – they dry out.
ingredients
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3 to 4 lb chicken legsthighs or wings
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2 tablespoon peanut oilor melted butter (or ghee)
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Kosher salt
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Lemons or limes to serve
spice mix:
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2 tablespoon Cute paprika
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1 tablespoon hot paprikaor 1-2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
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2 teaspoon garlic powder
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1 teaspoon ground ginger
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1 teaspoon floor cumin
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1 teaspoon onion powder
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1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
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1 teaspoon floor fenugreek
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1/2 teaspoon kosher Salt
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1/2 teaspoon floor cardamom
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1/4 teaspoon Ground carnations
method
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Preheat the oven:
Preheat oven to 325°F.
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Prepare the drumsticks:
Brush the legs with the peanut oil or melted butter and sprinkle with salt.
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Season chicken:
Mix all spices in a small bowl. In a large bowl, mix half of the seasoning mix with the chicken.
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Wrap the chicken in foil:
Arrange the drumsticks in a baking dish lined with enough foil to form a packet; You’ll be cooking those legs covered most of the time.
Sprinkle more of the spice mixture over the drumsticks. You can use the entire spice mix or stop whenever you like. The more mixture, the flavorier the chicken.
Fold the foil over to seal the drumsticks.
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Bake:
Bake at 325°F for 90 minutes. After 90 minutes, open the foil pack to allow the chicken to continue cooking uncovered. Cook for at least another 15 minutes and for as long as you like.
I like the meat on my drumsticks to almost fall off the bone, so I cook uncovered for another 30 to 45 minutes.
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Surcharge:
To serve, baste with some of the sauce that forms at the bottom of the pan and season with the rest of some rice or flatbread.
Squeeze some lemon or lime juice over the chicken before serving.
A green salad is also a good side dish.
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 498 | calories |
| 25g | Fat |
| 14g | carbohydrates |
| 56g | protein |
