Roasted Garlic & Olive Oil Crispy Chicken Legs

Roasted Garlic & Olive Oil pair together in this delicious chicken leg main dish. 4 ingredients is all you need, the results will make your tastebuds dance!

My birthday was yesterday.  Y’all wanna serenade me with the Happy Birthday song? The date was pretty cool this year – 12/13/14.  Awesome, right?  All day long, I kept seeing stuff passed around Facebook about how 12/13/14 was the last time we’d see a date with consecutive numbers in it during our lifetime.  I felt like I should play the lottery or rub a magic lamp or something.

You know what I did instead of playing the numbers? I sat in my pajamas all day long & watched tv.  And this is just part of the reason why I know I’m getting older – I don’t need to count the candles on my birthday to figure it out either.  I’m just smart like that. 

See – when I was younger, someone would ask me what I wanted for my birthday – I had a never-ending list in my head of what I’d want. CDs, toys, a Barbie dream house, easy bake oven, a pony… But now when I get asked what I want – I’m more like ‘Uhhhh, I dunno. Maybe some bills paid? Pajamas are ok.’

Actually, I did want to go out to eat at one of my favorite local restaurants. But this is when that whole ‘I’m getting older’ takes over.  I decided to postpone my dinner out because my birthday was on a Saturday. Do you know how crowded that place would be on a Saturday night? Oh, I’m still going – don’t get me wrong…. but on a weekday, & about midday for an early dinner when their won’t be a crowd.

Yup – definitely getting older. 

I didn’t have to cook on my birthday, however – which is always a plus. My family made me quesadillas & served them to me on the couch.  They even cleaned up after their mess!  It doesn’t get much better than that.

I’m back at it today though – back to making dinner for my family, & I’m perfectly ok with that. Cooking for my family is just one of the ways how I express my love for my family. My whole family are huge garlic lovers – and when I’m able to infuse our food with that beautiful flavor, I can see their faces instantly light up.  Gah-lic – it brings family’s together, y’all 😉

I created this recipe out of just a handful of ingredients that I had on hand – and a little inspiration.  I was ecstatic when it turned out amazing the first time too!  I always have plenty of garlic on hand, & roasting it brings out so much flavor that it’s as strong or pungent as raw garlic.  It’s a beautiful thing, people. Olive oil pairs wonderfully with roasted garlic – and that’s how this recipe came together. It isn’t rocket science.

A word of caution… Don’t proceed if you don’t like garlic. Or if you’re planning on dating any vampires in the near future.

Here’s what you need:

• about 10-12 chicken legs, skin removed
• 2-3 heads of garlic, roasted (I give a pictorial demonstration of this here)
• 1/2 cup cup Pompeian Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• panko bread crumbs, to coat
• salt & pepper, to taste

You will need 2 or 3 heads of roasted garlic.  I went with 3 because – well, have I mentioned that I love garlic?

The roasted garlic will slide out pretty easily by squeezing on it. Squeeze it all into a bowl & mash it all up with a fork.

Pour about 1/4 cup of Pompeian extra virgin olive oil in the garlic. Pompeian olive oil is my absolutely favorite olive oil, y’all – definitely a kitchen must-have!

Score your skinless chicken legs 3 times in the meatiest part…

…and then rub the garlic olive oil mixture all over the scored chicken legs. I use disposable food safe gloves for this part – then I can just throw the ‘icky’ away afterwards 🙂

Place the coated chicken legs into a large resealable plastic bag. Scrape in the remaining roasted garlic/olive oil mixture. Then, pour in the remaining 1/4 cup of Pomepian Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Press as much air out of the bag as you can, & then seal it. Refrigerate for at least overnight or up to 24 hours.

When you’re ready to cook the chicken, pour some panko bread crumbs into a bowl.  Start with about 1 cup, adding more if you need to.

Remove the chicken legs from the bag, making sure that the chicken legs still have a nice roasted garlic coating. If some has fallen off, then reapply some of it. Sprinkle the chicken with salt & pepper to taste.

Coat the chicken with the panko bread crumbs, & then place in a 9×13 baking dish that you’ve sprayed lightly with non-stick cooking spray.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Then, turn the oven to broil – broil for about 2 minutes or until the panko crumbs have a nice golden brown color to them. Flip the chicken, & broil on the other side (if desired – it’s not necessary, more for texture) for about 2 minutes, or until the panko is golden brown on that side too.

Sprinkle with a little salt & pepper to taste while still hot.

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Roasted Garlic & Olive Oil Crispy Chicken Legs

Cook Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

• about 10-12 chicken legs skin removed
• 2-3 heads of roasted garlic
• 1/2 cup cup Pompeian Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• panko bread crumbs to coat
• salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

• The roasted garlic will slide out pretty easily by squeezing on it. Squeeze it all into a bowl & mash it all up with a fork. Pour about 1/4 cup of Pompeian extra virgin olive oil in the garlic.Score your skinless chicken legs 3 times in the meatiest part with a sharp knife. Then rub the garlic olive oil mixture all over the scored chicken legs. Place the coated chicken legs into a large resealable plastic bag. Scrape in the remaining roasted garlic/olive oil mixture. Then, pour in the remaining 1/4 cup of Pomepian Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Press as much air out of the bag as you can, & then seal it. Refrigerate for at least overnight or up to 24 hours.
• When you’re ready to cook the chicken, pour some panko bread crumbs into a bowl. Start with about 1 cup, adding more if you need to. Remove the chicken legs from the bag, making sure that the chicken legs still have a nice roasted garlic coating. If some has fallen off, then reapply some of it. Sprinkle the chicken with salt & pepper to taste. Coat the chicken with the panko bread crumbs, & then place in a 9×13 baking dish that you’ve sprayed lightly with non-stick cooking spray.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Then, turn the oven to broil – broil for about 2 minutes or until the panko crumbs have a nice golden brown color to them. Flip the chicken, & broil on the other side (if desired – it’s not necessary, more for texture) for about 2 minutes, or until the panko is golden brown on that side too.Sprinkle with a little salt & pepper to taste while still hot.

Disclosure: I was compensated for this post by Pompeian Olive Oil. All opinions stated & general ramblings are my own.