Easy Chicken Lollipop Recipe You Can Make At Home

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Quick Chicken Lollipop Recipe:

Use a deboning knife to separate one of two bones from the drumstick or wing.
Use a serrated knife or a chef’s knife to push down the meat from the end of the bone in a downward motion towards the meat.
Brine the chicken in buttermilk for 4-6 hours.
Toss the chicken pieces in a marinade of spices such as salt, cornflour, Szechuan sauce, soy sauce, bbq sauce, chili powder, red chili paste, and ginger garlic paste.
Let chicken marinate for 1 hour before you deep fry it on medium heat or smoke it on a pellet grill.
Serve hot with shredded carrots, cabbage, and green onions or fried rice. Compliment the dish with a side of homemade schezwan sauce and chopped-up ginger and garlic.

1. The Origin Of Chicken Lollipop

I grew up on all foods chili! So, deep frying spicy chicken lollipops for a family gathering came easy to me. I’ll be walking you through the origin of chicken lollipops and why this dish became the most loved chicken recipe ever.

Chicken Lollipop, also known as ‘Chicken Drumsticks’ or ‘Drums Of Heaven’, is a classic starter or appetizer in most restaurants today, usually served alongside a bowl of fried rice. This chicken recipe originated in India and is made using chicken wings or chicken drumsticks.

Chicken lollipop was India’s way of taking chicken wings up a notch and introducing them to its Indo-Chinese or Hakka flavors. Chicken lollipops can be made in a wok, or a pellet grill, depending on how you like the consistency of your meat.

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2. How To Prep Bones and Wings To Make Chicken Lollipop

The way the lollipop chicken is carved from chicken drumsticks matters a lot. The chicken wing is frenched and cut loose from its bone and pushed down towards the meat, resembling a lollipop. To get the perfect lollipop shape, one of the two bones from the chicken wing is removed, leaving you with one slender bone to hold up the lollipop. It is then deep fried on medium heat for the perfect fried chicken lollipop.

A side of chicken lollipops is the ultimate comfort food for me. These delicious chicken wings drumettes are frenched and marinated in the most delectable combination of spices such as salt, soy sauce, bbq sauce, ginger garlic paste, and schezwan sauce.

How to French Chicken Drumette or Winglets

A frenched chicken is what you get when you cut away the tissues of a drumstick or a chicken wing. To master any chicken lollipop recipe, you need to work with chicken drumsticks or chicken wings.

If you’re a beginner, chicken drumsticks or drumettes are the best to work with.

However, if you’re familiar with the deboning of meats, using chicken wings is ideal as they give you tall and slender sticks for the lollipop.

Frenched chicken is perfect for a homemade recipe of chicken lollipops. Not only are they readily available, but they save you the process of deboning meat. Here’s how to make your very own bath of frenched chicken drumsticks/wings.

Steps:

Using a boning knife, make two passes along the skin on the drumstick.
Hold onto the tendons of the chicken with a tweezer and use a serrated knife to neatly cut them off.
Go back to your deboning knife and use it to lightly move the thin flesh of the drumsticks in a downward motion.
Once the meat begins to push towards the chicken from the bone, twist and turn your drumstick to cut off additional flesh that is visible.
Once all the flesh is pushed down, you should have a bulb-like shape that should resemble a lollipop.

Tip:

The bone of your lollipop should be non-slippery and clean of any flesh for the perfect lollipop resemblance.

3. Marinade or Sauce Recipe for Chicken Lollipop

Once you’ve mastered the art of deboning and frenching your chicken, it’s time to take all the risks with a chili marinade that works best for you. There are plenty of recipes out there for chicken lollipops (wet and dry).

Here are two recipes for a quick chili marinade, both wet and dry. Increase or decrease the proportions of these spices as you like, but here’s the most promising way to go about it.

Wet Marinade Or Sauce For Chicken Lollipops (Recipe)

Steps:

In a bowl, add 2-3 tablespoons of schezwan sauce, red chili sauce, barbecue sauce, red chili paste, soya sauce, garlic paste, tomato ketchup, and water. (For large batches of lollipop pieces, add 3-4 tablespoons of soy sauce and water)
In another bowl, add 2 teaspoons of chili powder, white and black pepper powder, salt, and lemon juice.
Add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet ingredients and mix well with a spatula for about 2 minutes. (Make sure you scrape the dry ingredients from the bottom of the bowl as well)
Add your chicken lollipops to the wet marinade or sauce and set aside for an hour.

Tip:

If you want to lap up the schezwan sauce, having the lollipops tossed in it is a great way to go. But, if you want to enjoy it as it is, having it cooked on a pellet grill and served with green onions and shredded cabbage and carrots is perfect.

Dry Marinade For Chicken Lollipops (Recipe)

Steps:

In a bowl, mix together corn flour, cornstarch, salt, pepper powder, bread crumbs, rice flour, chili powder, chili flakes, and garlic powder. (Finely chopped ginger is a great addition)
Mix the dry ingredients for a couple of minutes and sprinkle some lemon juice gradually for an extra zing.
Bring out the frenched chicken lollipops that were set aside earlier, and begin coating them with a thin layer of lemon juice and some cornstarch.
Remember, for a deep fried portion of chicken lollipops, cornstarch is the key to holding the marinade together. So, add more cornstarch or corn flour if the lollipop chicken is thinly coated.
Add no more than 2-3 tablespoons of water gradually to get a thick paste-like consistency. Remember, this is a dry marinade so don’t add any sauces.
Let the chicken lollipops marinate for an hour, heat oil, and cook within 5 minutes.

4. Methods Of Cooking Chicken Lollipop And Their Recipes

There are 2 infamous recipes for cooking a side of chicken lollipops. You can achieve this by deep frying the chicken pieces or opting for a healthy alternative through a pellet grill. Simplified and quick, here are the recipes for both of these methods.

Chicken Lollipop Recipe Using the Deep Frying Method

Steps:

In a wok, heat oil on medium heat until it reaches 340º F.
Hold the bone and dip the lollipop chicken into the oil and continue to hold until a thin brown layer begins to form.
Once this layer has surrounded the entire lollipop, leave the bone and let the chicken pieces deep fry for at least 5 minutes, and no more than 8 minutes.
Once the entire chicken has a golden brown hue, remove them from the wok and set it aside on a paper towel to remove excess oil from the fried chicken. And, you’re done!

Chicken Lollipop Recipe Using the Pellet Grill Method

Steps:

In a bowl, combine corn flour, cornstarch, salt, pepper powder, bread crumbs, rice flour, chili powder, and garlic powder. Mix well.
Turn on your electric pellet grill, or add wood pellets to your traditional pellet grill.
Season the lollipop chicken with your dry marinade or rub. To get the perfect smoky flavor, add in some extra spoons of pepper powder.
Once the internal temperature of your pellet grill reaches 165º F, place the deboned chicken wings or drumstick chicken pieces on the rack for 1 hour and 30 minutes.
In a skillet, add tomato ketchup, bbq sauce, soy sauce, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and chili powder.
Simmer the mixture in a skillet for 15-18 minutes and set aside.
In the last 15 minutes of cooking, use a basting brush and cover the chicken lollipops with it.
When cooked, rest the chicken lollipops for 15 minutes before serving with barbecue sauce or schezwan sauce.

Tips:

Sprinkle some lemon juice on the lollipops to enhance the smokiness of the pellet grilled pieces.
Since the cook time for chicken lollipops is longer with a pellet grill, coat your lollipop pieces in barbecue sauce in intervals to retain the juciness.

5. Nutritional Facts

While most recipes for chicken lollipops involve deep frying, this dish is still comparatively low in calories. Coming in at 184 calories per lollipop.
If you’re following a lazy keto diet, a small portion of chicken lollipops is a great choice as it has 13 grams of net carbs per chicken piece.
Using a pellet grill to cook chicken lollipops is an excellent way to ensure you have a healthy meal as you would not be using sauces that are packed with preservatives and food coloring.

6. Dalstrong Tools You Will Need To Make Chicken Lollipop

Here are some D alstrong cookware items that you would need to perfect the recipe for chicken lollipops.

1. Boning Knife 6" Gladiator Series | NSF Certified

This 6” inch boning knife is perfect to make passes along the flesh of the chicken drumsticks before shaping them into lollipops. The ergonomic handle on this knife helps you glide past flesh, tissues, and meat.

Pros:

Low in maintenance to wash away sauces, bread crumbs, and strong smells of ginger and garlic with ease.
Stain resistant for when you’re working with strong sauces like red chili sauce, schezwan sauce, or soy sauce.

Cons:

If you’re looking to debone large batches of lollipops, I recommend a large boning knife such as this 8” inch boning knife.
Perhaps, you’re looking for a handle made entirely with stainless steel.

2. Premium Grill Kit - 4 Piece

This premium grill kit includes barbecue tongs, a grill spatula, a meat fork, and a basting brush with ergonomic G10 handles that is perfect when you’re at your pellet grill.

Pros:

Comes with a silicone basting brush to rub the dry marinade while smoking chicken lollipops at the pellet grill.
The grill spatula has serrations to help check the doneness of your meat.

Cons:

May be out of budget for some.
You may prefer a spatula with additional slots to drain excessive oil.

3. High-Precision Black Titanium Coated 12" Professional Tweezers

A pair of high-precision tweezers are perfect for holding your chicken lollipop in place to cut the tendons. It helps prevent slips and injuries in the kitchen, or when you’re at your pellet grill.

Pros:

The 12” inch length of these tweezers gives you a sturdy grip on the meat.
The titanium coating provides maximum durability.

Cons:

They may not hold heavy meats ergonomically.

4. Bird's Beak Paring Knife 2.75" Shadow Black Series

This paring knife from the Shadow Black series assists with cutting meat or chopping chicken pieces like drumsticks. It is stain and wear-resistant, so it is safe when deep frying or dealing with strong sauces like schezwan sauce.

Pros:

The perfect length for shaping chicken lollipops pieces and cutting tendons of the meat.
Doesn’t hold onto the strong smells of ginger garlic paste or szechuan sauce.

Cons:

The blade would be short if you work with large batches of chicken drumsticks or chicken wings.
The coating of this knife makes it a tad difficult to sharpen, but it is possible.

5. Lionswood Colossal Teak Cutting Board

A cutting board is crucial for when you’re frenching your chicken drumsticks or chicken wings. This cutting board is sturdy and tough. It can fit over a kitchen sink for those with limited kitchen space which is an added benefit. Made with premium quality Teak Wood, this cutting board won’t disappoint you.

Pros:

Resistant to water and bacteria.
Doesn’t hold onto strong smells of schezwan sauce or ginger garlic paste.

Cons:

This cutting board has a higher price tag, but for all the right reasons.
You may prefer a cutting board that is thinner in width.

7. Frequently Asked Questions

What is the point of chicken lollipop?

Chicken lollipop is a frenched chicken wing where one of two bones is removed to create the shape of a lollipop.

Is chicken lollipop made from wings?

Chicken lollipop is made from a piece of wing where one of two bones is removed and the chicken is frenched.

What is the difference between a chicken lollipop and a drumstick?

A chicken drumstick has flesh attached to the entire bone, but a chicken lollipop is made when the flesh is cut from one end of the bone and pushed in a downward angle to resemble a lollipop. Lollipop pieces from chicken drumsticks and chicken wings taste similar and can be served hot with a side of barbecue sauce.

How do you cut a chicken lollipop?

Make two passes on the end of a chicken drumstick and move the flesh of the drumstick at a downward angle until it is pushed up together like a bulb and resembles a lollipop.

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Written by Ananya Tiwari

Ananya loves the fine things in life. When she isn’t penning down poetry or song lyrics, she spends her time cooking and creating recipes while also enjoying new cuisines.