Slow-Cooked Oven-Baked BBQ Chicken

This chicken recipe is slow-cooked, baked in the oven, for delicious fall-off-the-bone tender chicken legs that are covered with barbecue sauce for an absolute delight.

You can make this very easy homemade barbecue sauce, adapted from culinary author and barbecue expert Steven Raichlen's sauce recipe. It takes about five minutes to put together and just 10 to 15 minutes to simmer. If you transfer the sauce to a clean jar and store it in the refrigerator, it will keep for several months.

Drumsticks are one of the least expensive cuts of chicken you can buy, and, of course, kids love them because they are meant to be eaten by hand. They are cheap because they are the dark meat parts of the chicken, and in general, many people prefer white meat. But to skip the dark meat is really to miss out. When they are on sale, you will be amazed at how economical a big batch of drumsticks can be—and they look very nice piled up for a party.

Cooking the chicken at a low temperature allows the meat to become tender and stay juicy, without the barbecue sauce turning too brown and possibly burning. Make sure to line the baking sheet with aluminum foil, and spray that with nonstick cooking spray, both to prevent sticking and also (maybe more importantly) to make cleanup a snap.

Serve it with coleslaw, baked beans, or potato salad for the perfect picnic-type meal, or select a few of your favorite sides to round out the meal.