Baked Sticky Chicken Drumsticks with Cherry Glaze
Baked sticky chicken drumsticks cooked in a wonderfully easy and quick cherry jam, treacle and balsamic vinegar glaze, finger-licking food!
This very simple recipe takes around 45 minutes to prepare and cook, and they are just as good cooked in an air fryer and on the BBQ.
Glazed Sticky Chicken Drummers
I love chicken with a sweet and sticky glaze, and I have loads of examples on my website.
Everything from the British take on hunters chicken to countless wing recipes ranging from honey and sriracha chicken wings to harissa and date chicken wings.
My latest offering is some wonderful chicken drumsticks in a sticky cherry jam and balsamic vinegar glaze.
They are wonderfully easy to make; you throw some ingredients into a pan and reduce them down to make a glaze.
Then all you do is season the chicken, pour over the glaze and cook them in the oven for around 30 minutes... then dinner is ready!
Frequently Asked Questions
What is black treacle?
This question is often asked by US-based readers of my site. Black treacle is similar (but slightly different) to blackstrap molasses, and that is the best substitution if you need to use one.
Can I use a different cut of chicken?
Yes, this marinade works well with chicken wings, thighs or even chicken breast.
Naturally, the timings will need to change, but you are looking for an internal temperature of at least 73°C or 165°F for all of them.
Can I cook these chicken drumsticks in an air fryer?
Yes, I would cook them at 180°C or 350°F for 20 minutes, then give them a quick blast at 200°C or 390°F for 5-7 minutes to get a nice colour.
Again, you are looking for an internal temperature of 73°C or 165°F.
Can I cook these drummers on the BBQ?
Yes, these work wonderfully on the BBQ. For detailed instructions and timings, see my beer and honey BBQ chicken drumstick recipe.
Serving Suggestions
I've served my oven-baked sticky chicken wings with some potato wedges, I think a potato-based side works best.
But wedges are definitely not the only game in town; everything from air fryer chips to fried new potatoes and even these roasted Parmentier potatoes would work well too.
Potatoes ain't the only "fruit" either, my fried polenta chips are awesome with these chicken drummers.
If you wanted to double down on the sweetness, something like sweet potato fries would work well, too.
Finally, add some simple dressed salad leaves or a nice green salad, and you are ready to rock and roll.
Equipment Used
I only mention brands of equipment if I think that they make a material difference to a recipe. But if you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments section below the recipe.
- Hob/stovetop.
- 15cm or 6" saucepan.
- Stirring spoon.
- Oven. You can cook these in an air fryer or on the BBQ. See the FAQ section further up the page.
- Baking tray.
- Cooling rack.
- Kitchen tongs.
- A combination of weighing scales, a measuring jug, measuring cups and spoons.
- Quick-read meat thermometer (optional).
Oven Baked Sticky Chicken Drumsticks Recipe with a Cherry Balsamic Glaze
Ingredients
- 6 Chicken Drumsticks 750g Total
- 3 tablespoon Cherry Jam 75g
- 2 tablespoon Black Treacle 50g
- 2 tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar
- 75 ml Chicken Stock ⅓ Cup
- ¾ teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Black Pepper
Instructions
- Add the cherry jam, treacle, balsamic vinegar and chicken stock to a 15cm (6") saucepan and cook over a medium-high heat for 10 minutes or until it starts to form a syrupy texture.
- Place the chicken in a mixing bowl and season them with salt and pepper.
- Pour over the hot glaze and stir them to coat.
- Transfer the chicken drummers to a baking tray with a cooling rack on it, then bake at 200°C or 390°F for 20 minutes, then flip the oven to fan mode and cook for another 5-10 minutes. Ensure that the internal temperature of the chicken reaches at least 73°C or 165°F before serving.
What is fish sauce?! Is it cocktail, or tarter?!
Fish sauce is an Asian fermented "seasoning" https://www.bonappetit.com/story/what-is-fish-sauce
Wow, I love the sound of using cherry jam, the glaze sounds fantastic! Your photos are making me drool!
These sound and look wonderful but am not sure I know what 200c converts to in Fahrenheit?
Hey Patti, 200°C is 400°F, you will be pleased to know I am going through my site and adding Fahrenheit temperatures in addition to Celcius.
Wow, I love the sound of using cherry jam, the glaze sounds fantastic! Your photos are making me drool!
These really are fantastic, one of the first recipes on my site and one of the best and unusually for tinterweb one of the most popular too 😀
Hi Brian these drumsticks look so yummy! Do you think I could make them ahead, say in a Friday night and store them then preheat them the following day and serve?
Hi Colleen, I see no reason why not, they will no be quite as good as fresh from the oven, I always find reheated chicken looses a little, although you could try dropping a bowl of water in the oven whilst you are preheatng it to generate some steam that will hopefully add a little moisture when you reheat the chicken. Enjoy 🙂
Hey Brian,
Thanks for sharing this recipe! I made these today with a little twist! They were stunning but sweet as hell haha 🙂 I link back to your site as soon as I've published the recipe!
Cheers and thank you very much for inspiring me!
Superb, they are a little on the sweet side but I kinda like that, glad you enjoyed them look forward to seeing your version 🙂
I love anything sticky and chicken is so perfect. I have never used black treacle for my sticky sauce and it sounds delicious! 🙂
Thank Petra, I hope you enjoy it!
Wow! I am drooling at the pic. Cherry jam in the glaze sounds super innovative. Must ,should,will try asap?
Thank you, hope you enjoy... The jam is very subtle but helps with the glaze and gives a richness to the flavour.
Sweet and Spicy God in heaven! These look like I died and went to heaven! Thanks for sharing this at #SaucySaturdays!
Ha ha, thank you very much 🙂
OMG you mixed the paprikas! You mad man! And I also have homework cuz I 've no idea what black treacle is. But it's worth it because I can do this in oven and that makes me so happy. Thanks for linking at #SaucySaturdays, Brian. Also, I'm glad you didn't "neaten them up." Love them just like this in all their sticky glory.
I guess the mixed Paprika is a Hungarian thing, they play levels of paprika like an orchestra plays instruments... These definitely needed the finger licking bits at the end to keep 'em real 😉
These look incredible Brian! 🙂 I absolutely love how beautifully sticky and flavourful they look! Some foods just need a big pile of napkins! 😀 Thank you for sharing this with us at #SaucySaturdays!
Cheers Dini, the napkins are not required just lick your fingers 😉
Brian you cant keep doing this to me buddy! Chicken drumsticks never looked this good! It makes me wish I had some chicken in my fridge right now .. Thanks for linking up at #SaucySaturdays
Hahhhahhhaaa, I am so sorry I will try harder next time 😉
The photo alone made me so hungry!! Its like I could almost smell this dish from here. Look so good! 🙂
Thanks Jhuls, it is a very satisfying sticky savoury treat 🙂
Brian this sounds scrumptious, I've never used sweet and hot paprika at the same time, I assume they're complimentary?
Sweet and hot paprika are definitely complimentary, they are essentially just ground up dried peppers of different varieties... They are there to do two different jobs, the warm sweet mellowness of the sweet paprika is like a foundation underpinning everything and the heat zing of of the spicy comes in much later 🙂
With the dead batteries, the shots are beautiful..Looks like a perfect fit for the summer evening.. Loving the presentation..
Thank you very much... Not a major issue, just meant I could not check and be as precise as I like to be 🙂
What is black treacle??
Black treacle is a dark, thick, sugar syrup... For a substitute you could use Molasses, there is a technical difference in terms of how they are produced, however the flavours are very similar.
This chicken looks amazing! Totally agree with you that the messiness of chicken drumsticks is half the fun. 🙂
There are just some foods that are not done right if you don't need a wash after eating them 😉
These really do look fantastic Brian. Do you leave the skin on or take it off before running etc?
Skin on for me Jo, but I love chicken skin, it has so much flavour... I have even been known to remove it grill it off until crispy, let it cool & blitz, then add it to the breadcrumb mix for Kievs 🙂
Ground up chicken skin breadcrumbs might be the best idea I've ever heard of!
Be prepared to have you mind blown... I do it with pork crackling too and make 'pulled pork' deep fried balls with crackling mixed in with the bread crumbs 😮