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roasted chicken leg cooked carrots and white rice on a white plate

Slow Roasted Chicken Legs

This delicious, mildly spicy slow roasted chicken legs recipe is perfect for a Sunday family meal.
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 5 minutes
Serving Size 7

Equipment

  • 1 large baking pan or casserole dish

Ingredients

  • 7 large chicken legs (weighing a total of 2.7kg/6 pounds)
  • 2 tsps rosemary
  • 2 tsps thyme
  • 2 tsps paprika
  • 2 tsps onion powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 small dried red chillies, crushed, or 1 tsp chilli powder
  • 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 tsp unrefined salt
  • 2 cups chicken stock or water

Instructions

  • Preheat your oven to 160C/320F.
  • Arrange the chicken legs on a baking pan.
  • In a small bowl, mix all the seasonings. Sprinkle the mix over the chicken legs.
  • Using your hands, rub the seasoning mix all over the chicken legs (including the underside).
  • Pour 1 cup of the stock around the legs in the baking dish.
  • Place the baking dish in the oven and let it cook for 1 hour.
  • After the first hour is up, baste the chicken legs with the pan juices using a large spoon. Add more stock if necessary - you don't want it to get dry at any point during roasting.
  • Let it cook for another 30 minutes and then baste it again and leave to cook for 30 minutes more.
  • After 2 hours cooking time have passed, your chicken should be very tender inside, crispy and golden on the outside, and ready to be served. If it looks like it needs a little more time, baste it again and cook for an extra 30 minutes (every oven is different).
  • Serve immediately with plain rice or some mashed potatoes, and some veggies. Don't forget to spoon some of the pan juices over the chicken and rice or potatoes.

Notes

  • If you love this recipe as much as I do, keep a large batch of the mixed spices in a jar, ready to use whenever you want to make this recipe.
  • I used chicken stock but any other type of stock or even plain water will work just fine. 
  • I allow 1 large chicken leg per person which is a generous adult serving. This amount is enough for two dinners for our family of two adults and three kids. 
  • You could add some potato wedges or carrots cut up into large pieces after the first hour of cooking and let them roast with the chicken.
  • This is a great recipe to use with turkey legs - roasting time will be longer of course.