Introduction
You can’t go wrong with a classic chicken leg quarter recipe. It’s an easy way to make dinner for the whole family without a lot of effort—just mix up some spices, pop them in the oven and voila! The hardest part is waiting for them to cook so you can enjoy that warm, comforting meal. Thankfully, cooking time varies depending on how big your chicken legs are, but they’ll be done just as soon as there’s no pink remaining inside.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Place a rack in the middle position of your oven and preheat it for 10 minutes or until it’s up to temperature. Use an oven thermometer to check the temperature; if needed, adjust the heat setting so that your chicken legs will cook at 375 degrees F.
Arrange the chicken legs skin-side down in a shallow baking dish.
Arrange the chicken legs skin-side down in a shallow baking dish. Make sure you have enough room to fit all of your chicken legs in one layer, without crowding them together. If not, use multiple shallow baking dishes or adjust their size (for example, by cutting an upside-down muffin tin in half).
The dish should also be non-stick so that it doesn’t stick to your food while it cooks–this will help keep the meat from getting too dry while it’s roasting!
Pour 1/2 cup water into the dish, place it in the oven and cook for 20 minutes.
- Pour 1/2 cup water into the dish, place it in the oven and cook for 20 minutes.
- If you don’t have any water on hand, don’t worry–it’s not required to make this recipe work. The chicken will still come out great!
Remove the pan from the oven, turn over each chicken leg and pour another 1/2 cup of water into the dish. Bake for another 30 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink inside. (Skin will be browned.)
Remove the pan from the oven, turn over each chicken leg and pour another 1/2 cup of water into the dish. Bake for another 30 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink inside. (Skin will be browned.)
Check to see if your chicken is done by piercing it with a fork or knife through its thickest part, being careful not to cut yourself on any bones. If there’s still a lot of pinkness in that area, keep baking for 10-15 minutes more until done
You can cook chicken leg quarters in an oven until they are done
You can cook chicken leg quarters in an oven until they are done.
- Cook until internal temperature of chicken is 165 degrees F. Cooking times will vary depending on size of chicken and oven settings.
- If you want to cook in a slow cooker, check the recipe for cooking times.
Conclusion
After about 1 hour in the oven, your chicken leg quarters will be cooked. The skin will be browned and crispy and the meat will be tender and juicy. If you don’t have an oven, you can still cook these tasty little treats on a grill or over hot coals!