How to boil Chicken Legs (Thighs, Drumsticks, Quarters)

User Reviews

4.9

14 reviews
Excellent
  • Prep Time

    5 mins

  • Cook Time

    30 mins

  • Servings

    4

  • Calories

    267 kcal

  • Course

    Main Course

  • Cuisine

    American

How to boil Chicken Legs (Thighs, Drumsticks, Quarters)

Learn how to boil chicken legs: thighs, drumsticks, or quarters. It’s fast, easy, and delicious! And there are so many ways you can use the tender, flavorful boiled chicken legs.

I Made This!

1 person made this

Save this

6 people saved this

Ingredients

Servings
  • 4 chicken legs Note 1,2
  • 1 onion medium
  • 1 carrot medium
  • 1 celeriac optional, or 2 celery sticks
  • ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt or Kosher salt
  • ½ teaspoon black peppercorns
  • 4-5 cloves optional, Note 3
  • 5-6 juniper berries optional
  • 3-4 bay leaf
  • parsley small bunch
  • 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon paste Note 4, or powder or 1 chicken stock cube
  • water cold

Instructions

  1. Chicken: Place the chicken legs in a large pot, don’t overcrowd the pot.
  2. Vegetables: Clean and halve onion, carrot, and celeriac/celery sticks. Add to pot.
  3. Add spices: salt, peppercorns, cloves, juniper berries, bay leaves, and chicken stock cube.
  4. Cover with COLD water, about 1 inch/ 2.5 cm above the meat.
  5. Cover and bring the water to a boil on medium-high heat. Don’t let the water come to a rolling boil; reduce the heat once it starts to boil gently.
  6. Simmer gently on medium-low heat until the chicken parts are cooked through.
  7. Chicken drumsticks: about 15 minutes.Chicken thighs: between 20-25 minutes, depending on size.Chicken quarters: between 25-30 minutes, depending on size.
  8. Check that the chicken legs are cooked through with a meat thermometer; the internal temperature should be 165 degrees Fahrenheit/ 74 degrees Celsius).If you don’t have a thermometer, cut the leg at the thickest part, the juices should run clear, and the meat should be completely white.

Notes

  • You can use chicken drumsticks (4 pieces only serve 2, cook 8 of them if serving 4), chicken thighs (4 pieces for 4 modest servings), or chicken quarters (4 pieces for 4 generous servings).
  • The nutrition is calculated with chicken thighs.
  • All the spices except salt and pepper are optional, but I recommend using them; they add a lot of flavors.
  • Also optional, but it adds a lot of flavor to the broth. The cooking time is not long enough to make chicken stock really flavorful; the bouillon or stock cube helps.

Nutrition Information

Show Details
Serving 1g Calories 267kcal (13%) Carbohydrates 5g (2%) Protein 19g (38%) Fat 19g (29%) Saturated Fat 5g (25%) Polyunsaturated Fat 4g (24%) Monounsaturated Fat 8g (40%) Trans Fat 1g (50%) Cholesterol 111mg (37%) Sodium 542mg (23%) Potassium 331mg (7%) Fiber 1g (4%) Sugar 2g (4%) Vitamin A 2644IU (53%) Vitamin C 3mg (3%) Calcium 25mg (3%) Iron 1mg (6%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 4Serving

Amount Per Serving

Calories 267 kcal

% Daily Value*

Serving 1g
Calories 267kcal 13%
Carbohydrates 5g 2%
Protein 19g 38%
Fat 19g 29%
Saturated Fat 5g 25%
Polyunsaturated Fat 4g 24%
Monounsaturated Fat 8g 40%
Trans Fat 1g 50%
Cholesterol 111mg 37%
Sodium 542mg 23%
Potassium 331mg 7%
Fiber 1g 4%
Sugar 2g 4%
Vitamin A 2644IU 53%
Vitamin C 3mg 3%
Calcium 25mg 3%
Iron 1mg 6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Genuine Reviews

User Reviews

Overall Rating

4.9

14 reviews
Excellent

Write a Review

Drag & drop files here or click to upload
Other Recipes

You'll Also Love

Loaded Mashed Potatoes

American
5.0 (33 reviews)

Crispy Slow Cooker Corned Beef

Irish
5.0 (639 reviews)

Easy Baked Sweet Potatoes

American
5.0 (15 reviews)

Creamy Chicken Pasta Salad

American
5.0 (12 reviews)

Candied Yams

American
5.0 (21 reviews)

Olive Garden Chicken Scampi Pasta

Italian
5.0 (108 reviews)

Buffalo Wings

American
5.0 (63 reviews)

Broccoli Casserole

American
5.0 (36 reviews)

Filipino Adobo Chicken

Filipino
5.0 (84 reviews)

Crab Cake Sandwich

American
5.0 (15 reviews)

S'mores Bars

American
5.0 (21 reviews)

Vegetable Beef Stew

American
5.0 (30 reviews)