Chicken Drumsticks in Chile Verde

1. Prep

Begin by preheating your oven to the broil setting. Pat the chicken drumsticks dry with paper towels and season them generously with salt. Chop the onion into large pieces. Peel the tomatillos and cut them in half. Cut the jalapeno in half and remove the seeds. Roughly chop the cilantro, stems and all. Place a small saute pan over medium heat and toast the spices for 3-5 minutes until hot and fragrant. Once the spices are toasted, grind them into a powder.

2. Broil Aromatics

Toss the the quartered tomatillos, jalapeno, garlic and onion in half of the oil and season with salt. Broil for 7-10 minutes until very charred on the outside and the tomatillos are releasing their liquid. After broiling, remove the tray from the oven and turn the oven to 350F.

3. Sear Chicken

In a heavy-bottomed, oven-safe pot, heat the avocado oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken drumsticks and sear them until they develop a golden-brown crust, about 5-7 minutes per side. Turn off the pot, remove the drumsticks and set them aside.

4. Blend

Add the broiled ingredients along with the spices and half of the cilantro into the base of a blender, blend on high until everything is broken down into a rough puree.

5. Add Cooking Liquid

Return the pot to the heat and pour in the chicken stock, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. These bits are packed with flavor and will enrich the sauce. Then add the chile verde from the blender, mixing everything together and adding salt as needed.

6. Braise Chicken

Return the chicken drumsticks to the pot, nestling them into the sauce. Bring the mixture to a low simmer, then cover the pot with a lid and transfer it to the preheated oven. Let it braise for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the chicken is tender and pulls away from the bone easily.

7. Finishing Ingredients

Once the chicken is tender, remove the pot from the oven, and gently stir in the chopped cilantro. Adjust the seasoning of the sauce with salt, plate the chicken in a bowl and top with the chili verde and the remaining chopped cilantro.