Martha Stewart Brown Sugar Barbecue Chicken Drumettes Recipe

Four ingredients in the sauce and they are all things you already have. Martha Stewart’s Brown Sugar Barbecue Chicken Drumettes are baked at 450 degrees until sticky and dark, with a homemade BBQ sauce made from ketchup, brown sugar, Worcestershire, and cider vinegar.

I bring these to every summer cookout because they feed a crowd and nobody has to stand over a grill. This Martha Stewart chicken wings recipe makes 6 pounds of baked drumettes on two sheet pans, and the sticky barbecue coating is the kind that gets on your fingers and you do not even care.

Try More Chicken Recipes:

• Buffalo Wings
• Baked Chicken Nuggets
• Buttermilk Chicken Tenders

Why You Will Love These Drumettes:

• The sauce is almost embarrassingly easy: You whisk ketchup, brown sugar, Worcestershire, and vinegar together in a bowl. That is the whole sauce. I kept waiting for it to need something else but it does not.
• They feed a big group without much work: Six pounds sounds like a lot but you just toss them on two sheet pans, pour the sauce on, and walk away for 30 minutes. I have made these for 10 people and had enough left over for the next day.
• Kids actually eat them: The sweet barbecue flavor is mild enough that even picky kids go for these. Mine will not touch anything spicy but they fight over the last drumette every single time.

Brown Sugar Barbecue Chicken Drumettes Ingredients

• 2 cups ketchup
• 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 6 pounds chicken drumettes, patted dry

How To Make Martha Stewart Brown Sugar Barbecue Chicken Drumettes

1. Make the sauce: Whisk together the ketchup, brown sugar, Worcestershire, and cider vinegar in a medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside 1 cup of the sauce for tossing with the raw chicken. Save the rest for after baking.
2. Prep the oven and pans: Set the oven to 450 degrees with racks in the upper and lower thirds. Line two rimmed baking sheets with aluminum foil.
3. Toss the drumettes: Split the drumettes between the two baking sheets and toss them with the reserved 1 cup of sauce so everything is coated.
4. Bake: Put both pans in the oven and bake until the chicken is cooked through, 30 to 35 minutes. Rotate the sheets between racks and toss the chicken once halfway through.
5. Sauce and serve: Toss the baked drumettes with another half cup of sauce and serve with the remaining sauce on the side for dipping.

Recipe Tips

• Pat the drumettes dry: If they are wet the sauce slides right off. I lay them on paper towels for a few minutes before tossing. It makes a real difference in how well the coating sticks.
• Line the pans with foil: Martha says it and she is right. The sugar in the sauce burns onto the pan and without foil you are scrubbing for 20 minutes. I learned that the hard way once and never skipped it again.
• Rotate the pans halfway: The top rack runs hotter in most ovens. Swapping the pans and tossing the drumettes at the halfway mark means they brown evenly instead of some getting charred while others are still pale.

How I Adjust The Sauce

The original sauce is sweet and mild which is great for kids but a little one-note for adults. I started adding a tablespoon of sriracha to the sauce before tossing and it gives it just enough heat without losing the brown sugar flavor. Cayenne works too if you want dry heat instead of wet.

If the sauce feels too ketchup-heavy for you, try broiling the drumettes for 2 to 3 minutes right at the end. It caramelizes the sugar in the sauce and the flavor shifts from ketchup to something closer to real pit barbecue. That one change made me like this recipe twice as much.

What Goes Well With These Drumettes

These are party food so I treat the sides like a party spread. Coleslaw is the first thing I put out because the vinegar in it cuts through all that sticky sweetness. Cornbread is the other one I always make.

If I am doing a full table I add deviled eggs and call it done. You do not need a lot of sides when the drumettes are this saucy. People just stand around the platter and eat with their hands.

How To Store Leftovers

These keep well because the sauce acts like a glaze that holds moisture in. Fridge for up to 4 days in a sealed container. They freeze fine too, unlike breaded chicken, because there is no coating to go soggy.

Reheat at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or toss them in an air fryer to get the edges crispy again. I eat them cold straight from the fridge sometimes and they honestly taste like candy, the brown sugar sets up almost like a glaze overnight.

FAQs

• Can I use regular chicken wings instead of drumettes? Yes. Flats and drumettes cook at the same rate so you can use a mix or all flats if that is what you find. I have done both and the sauce works the same way on either cut.
• Can I cut this recipe in half? Absolutely. Cut everything in half and use one sheet pan instead of two. I do this when it is just us at home and it still makes plenty for four people with leftovers.
• Is this too sweet for adults? It can be if you use the full cup of brown sugar. I pull back to three quarters of a cup when I know it is mostly adults eating, and I add a little hot sauce to balance the sweetness. Martha keeps it mild but you can push it.
• Do I need a baking dish or sheet pans? Martha says sheet pans and I agree. A deep baking dish traps steam and the skin stays soft. The flat open pan lets the edges crisp up and the sauce caramelizes better.

More Chicken Recipes:

• Pulled BBQ Chicken Sandwiches
• Apricot Dijon Glazed Chicken
• Baked Chicken and Onions

Nutrition Facts

(1 serving, serves 8)

• Calories: 560
• Total Fat: 30g
• Saturated Fat: 8g
• Cholesterol: 150mg
• Sodium: 900mg
• Total Carbohydrates: 30g
• Protein: 40g