Drumstick — Oven-baked legs · 76

Cook Drumstick as Braising to 86° at the centre. Plate as Oven-baked legs. Angle 2: check thickness before the clock. The lower leg, threaded with the tendons the bird stands on. Those tendons never fully soften under quick heat, so the drumstick rewards either long braising or high enough heat to render everything around them — and the bone conducts heat inward, which is why it cooks faster than its size suggests.

Choose plump drumsticks with skin covering the whole leg — exposed meat dries and toughens first. Judge it by the joint: when the meat has pulled back from the knuckle end, the tendons have given up. Buy matched weights so a tray finishes together; skin should be taut, not slimy.

Cook Drumstick as Oven-baked legs to 86° at the centre. Thick grain needs more time. A cut’s grain comes from how much the muscle worked. Drumstick needs heat through to 86° before “Oven-baked legs” makes sense. 86 is a stage of that heat, not a luxury score. The same cut becomes a stew, a grill, or a braise, so a steak minute does not cover a pot. Thick connective tissue wants time, not a hard sear alone. This is not medical advice.