How to Boil Chicken Legs
Follow this detailed guide on how to boil chicken legs for juicy and flavorful meat with only a few ingredients and minimal effort. Enjoy them as a main dish or repurpose the meat for other recipes.
Equipment
- 1 medium or large pot with a lid
- 1 meat thermometer
Ingredients
- 6 ea (about 2 pounds) fresh chicken legs *see notes below for frozen
- 1 large carrot
- ½ yellow
- 1 teaspoon salt, adjust to taste
- 2-3 bay leaves
Instructions
- In large pot add chicken legs, roughly chopped carrots and ½ of onion, bay leaves and salt.
- Pour enough water to fully cove the chicken.
- Place the pot on the stove over medium-high heat and bring it to a gentle boil.
- Reduce the heat to low-medium and let the chicken boil covered for about 20-35 minutes. The meat is cooked when the juices run clear and the internal temperature reaches 165°F.
- Turn off the heat and let the chicken legs sit in hot broth for about 10 minutes to absorb even more flavor. Using tongs, remove the legs from hot broth and serve as main dish or use for other recipes.
- You can strain the broth and store it in the fridge for up to 3 days to make some soup.
Notes
Frozen chicken - frozen legs will take about 30-45 minutes to boil without thawing.
Herbs - you an add fresh herbs for more flavorful broth, such as thyme, rosemary or sage.
Broil - you can broil the legs for a few minutes to make the skin crispy. Before doing so, season the legs with little bit of salt, paprika, garlic powder and black pepper.
All nutrition facts are only estimate and should be used for information purposes only.
Nutrition
Serving: 1eaCalories: 163kcalProtein: 20gFat: 8.4gSaturated Fat: 2.5gCholesterol: 68mgSodium: 215mg
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