Ingredients
8 chicken drumsticks (about 2 lb.)
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
3 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 large clove garlic, minced
3/4 c. ketchup
1/2 c. cider vinegar
2 tbsp. dark brown sugar
2 tsp. smoked paprika
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
Chopped fresh parsley leaves, for garnish
Preparation
Step 1In a large bowl, toss chicken, salt, pepper, and 2 teaspoons oil. Working in batches if necessary, in an air-fryer basket, arrange drumsticks, spacing about 1/2" apart. Cook at 400° for 10 minutes.Step 2Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, cook garlic and remaining 1 teaspoon oil, stirring, until golden and fragrant, about 1 minute. Add ketchup, vinegar, brown sugar, paprika, and cumin. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until sauce coats back of a spoon, about 10 minutes (you should have about 1 cup sauce). Transfer half of sauce to a large heatproof bowl; reserve remaining sauce for serving.Step 3Toss chicken with sauce in large bowl. Return chicken to air fryer, discarding any excess sauce left in bowl, and continue to cook at 400° until chicken is cooked through and charred in spots, 7 to 10 minutes more.Step 4Arrange chicken on a platter. Top with parsley. Serve with reserved sauce alongside.
The key to that tasty BBQ flavor lies in both the sauce and the technique of glazing the drumsticks. Returning them to the air fryer sets the glaze to finger-licking stickiness (a GREAT thing in our book). If you already have a favorite brand of BBQ sauce, streamline the recipe and use 1 cup of that instead of our homemade version. It takes around 20 minutes to cook chicken drumsticks in an air fryer. To lacquer the gorgeous BBQ glaze on the drumsticks, you’ll take them out after 10 minutes, coat with the glaze, and return to the oven for a further 7 to 10 minutes.
