How Long To Cook Chicken Legs In Oven At 350?

Chicken legs is an all-time favorite and classic that just does not go wrong in any celebration or even as an everyday meal. Not only is this white meat irresistible scrumptious, but its versatility is also something worth taking note of. From broiling to baking, a chicken legs will always be a perfect choice. I love to roast the chicken legs in the oven and my favorite temperature to use is 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Now the question is this. How long to cook chicken legs in oven at 350 degrees? In this post, I like to give an answer to this question as well as tips to a perfect baked chicken leg recipe.

How Long To Cook Chicken Legs In Oven At 350 Degrees?

It takes 40 to 50 minutes to bake chicken legs in oven at 350 degrees. It depends a lot on the size of the chicken legs, and how thick the meat is. The thickness matters since thicker pieces of chicken leg take longer to cook, while thinner ones take shorter. But, 40-50 minutes is an already good estimate for this. Just make sure that the chicken leg internal temperature is around 170 degrees Fahrenheit before removing them from the oven, so that you know it’s already cooked to moist, juicy and tender perfection!

What are other temperatures to bake chicken legs in the oven?

You may also raise the oven temperature to 400 degrees F for quicker cooking, which only takes about 35-45 minutes to bake the whole chicken legs in the oven! Some also prefer to cook at this temperature to make the skin even crispier. You can also opt to go for a lower temperature of around 325 degrees if you want to slow roast the chicken leg in the oven. Any temperature works actually, that’s also part of its versatility! Whichever cooking temp you choose, just make sure that the chicken leg is cooked just right, not under cook or over cooked, by checking that the internal temperature for the chicken leg has reached 170 degrees F before taking them out of the oven!

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What are other ways to cook the whole chicken leg?

Chicken as meat is known for its versatility, so of course, there are lots of ways to enjoy your chicken legs! From baking to deep frying, and even slow-cooking. For the likes of baking, slow roasting, and grilling, you don’t need much! Simply season your chicken with some salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika, and you’re already good to go! You may also add some lemon juice and mustard for more flavor. You can even simply do the same seasoning with deep-fried chicken and then coat it with buttermilk, seasoned flour, egg, and bread crumbs! You can also try slow roasting your chicken legs with some lemon, honey, and garlic, for a honey lemon chicken! Whichever way you want to cook it, chicken legs would always taste great with these seasoning.

How to cook chicken leg in oven fast?

Truly, there are so many ways to enjoy this simple yet amazingly scrumptious piece of meat. But, cooking chicken legs isn’t always a quick flap of the wings! If you’re looking for that though, here are some things you can do.

  1. Cook beforehand – Before going into actually baking your chicken leg, you can broil or boil them the day before you cook, as this quickens up the process by a lot!
  2. Raise the baking temp – Like all other meats and foods, raising the temperature of your oven does help in quickening the cooking process. Just make sure you won’t overcook your chicken legs and make it rubbery and dry, because that’s not going to taste good.
  3. Add fat – Adding fat like butter and oil to your chicken leg will help as well since these fats are conductors of heat that can let your chicken legs absorb heat and cook so much faster!

Tips to improve baked chicken leg recipe

If you can quicken up your cooking, there are also ways you can take your cooking to a whole new next level! Here’s how.

Add Herbs to the whole chicken leg

Seasoning your whole chicken legs with some herbs like rosemary, parsley, chives. This will really lift that tasty meat of the chicken and will just make your dish even more mouth watering delicious.

Serve chicken legs with sauce

It’s good to experiment with your cooking skills and make your delicious chicken sauce! Whether something tomato-ey or something that uses soy sauce, anything matches well with chicken legs.

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Marinade The whole chicken leg

This may take more time than usual cooking, but allowing your chicken legs to marinate for longer, like hours or even overnight, is sometimes the key to taking your meat to a flavor that’s just heavenly good and would make you want some more.

Conclusion

That’s all you need to know to prepare your chicken legs and thighs to unbeatable tasty perfection. Chicken legs is always great because one, it’s simple to prepare, and two, it’s never a wrong choice. I hope this can help as you prepare some chicken goodness for your guests. Let them be blown away by some real, juicy, and tender meat that you’ve prepared. Bon appetite!

FAQs on Baked Chicken Legs

Are chicken legs drumsticks?

No. Chicken legs are not just drumsticks. Chicken legs is made up of both the drumstick and the chicken thighs.

How many chicken legs in a serving?

I normally prepare 1 chicken leg in a serving per person as I would normally have another 3 to 4 dishes along with it. So this portion is pretty filling. But for every 2 persons, I would have 1 more chicken leg prepared. This is meant for second helping if anyone wants one more go.

What temperature is chicken legs done?

The chicken legs internal temperature should hit 170 degrees Fahrenheit for it to be cooked. Do not let the internal temp go beyond 180 degrees as the result will turn out dry and rubbery. The food thermometer should also be placed at the thigh area where it is thicker and more difficult to get cooked.

How Long To Cook Chicken Legs In Oven At 400 Degrees?

It takes 35 to 45 minutes to bake chicken legs in oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on the thickness of the thigh which is the thickest part and will take longer to cook. Towards the end of the baking session, stick a food thermometer to the thigh area and make sure the chicken leg internal temp reaches 170 degrees Fahrenheit. This is the temperature that it is fully cooked.  At this temperature you can get tender chicken leg meat with a crispy skin.