What Are Chicken legs and How Can I Use Them?

Chicken legs is easier to cook with than it looks. Here's how to choose, use, and store them, what to substitute, and 68 recipes to get you started.

Key Points

A whole chicken leg is the thigh and drumstick joined, all rich and forgiving dark meat.
Roast skin-side up at 400 to 425°F (200 to 220°C), or braise low until tender.
Skin needs high, dry heat and time to render its fat and crisp.
Cook legs to 175 to 185°F (80 to 85°C); at 165°F (74°C) dark meat is chewy.
Among the cheapest cuts; use within one to two days or freeze up to nine months.

What are chicken legs?

A chicken leg is the whole lower limb: the thigh and the drumstick still joined as one piece, sometimes sold as a leg quarter with a bit of the back attached. It is all dark meat, the richest and most forgiving part of the bird.

Dark meat carries more fat and connective tissue than the breast, so it stays juicy through long cooking and bold seasoning. A leg is cheap and hard to ruin, which makes it the cut to grab when you want chicken that takes care of itself.

How to Cook Whole Legs

Roasting is the easy win. Set legs skin-side up at 400 to 425°F (200 to 220°C) for 40 to 45 minutes until the skin browns and the juices run clear, as in Baked Chicken Legs or Easy Garlic Broiled Chicken.

Braising is where legs really pay off. Brown them, then simmer low in liquid until the meat loosens from the bone, the method behind Curried Chicken Legs and a Country Cassoulet. The connective tissue melts into the sauce and the meat turns silky.

Legs also stew and grill well. Their bone and fat protect them over a fire or in a long pot, where leaner cuts would dry out.

Getting It Right

The skin needs dry heat and time to render. Roast or broil long enough at high heat and the fat melts out, leaving the skin crisp; rush it and the skin stays flabby and pale.

Cook legs to 175 to 185°F (80 to 85°C), not the bare-minimum 165°F (74°C).

Dark meat is full of collagen that only breaks down with extra heat, so a leg pulled at 165°F (74°C) is safe but chewy, while one taken higher is tender. You cannot really overcook a braised leg, which is the whole point.

Substitutes

Split a leg and you get a thigh and a drumstick, so either stands in for the whole leg in most recipes. Bone-in thighs alone are the closest single-cut swap and cook a touch faster. For braises, mixed chicken pieces work just as well.

Buying and Storing

Choose legs that look plump and pink with intact skin and no gray or sour notes. Whole legs and leg quarters are among the cheapest cuts in the case, so buy extra and freeze.

Keep raw legs no more than one to two days in the coldest part of the fridge. Freeze for up to nine months and thaw overnight in the refrigerator, never on the counter. For general chicken handling and safety, see the parent chicken page.