4th of July Feast ~ Sweet & Sour Chicken Drumsticks

Fourth of July and grilling go hand-in-hand. In my opinion, you can't have one without the other. That being said, we can still have our traditional outdoor festivities but with healthier food choices. Like grilling, potato salad is another 4th staple. I found these yummy recipes and thought I'd share them with you. 

Sweet-&-Sour Chicken Drumsticks. Chicken drumsticks stay deliciously moist when grilled – even with the skin removed. Minty sweet-and-sour dipping sauce adds a refreshing twist to “ordinary” grilled chicken. Serve with brown rice and slices of fresh pineapple.

Serves: 4 Preparation time: 40 minutes

Ingredients 

• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest 
• 1/4 cup orange juice 
• 1/4 cup water 
• 3 tablespoons honey 
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cider vinegar, 
• divided 1/2 teaspoon salt, 
• divided 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander 
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch 
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint 
• 8 chicken drumsticks (about 2 pounds), skin removed, trimmed 
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Preparation 

1. Preheat grill to medium. (No grill? See Broiler Variation, below.) 
2. To prepare dipping sauce, combine orange zest, orange juice, water, honey, 1 tablespoon vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon salt and coriander in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. 

Whisk cornstarch and the remaining 1 teaspoon vinegar in a small bowl until smooth. Add to the saucepan and return to a boil, whisking until thickened, 30 seconds to 1 minute. 
Remove from the heat. Stir in mint.

3. Sprinkle drumsticks with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. 
Oil the grill rack. Grill the drumsticks until crispy on all sides and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 165°F, about 15 minutes total. 
Serve the drumsticks with the dipping sauce on the side.

Broiler variation

• Position oven rack in the upper third of the oven; preheat broiler to high. 
• Prepare sauce (Step 2). Coat a broiler pan with cooking spray. 
• Sprinkle drumsticks with salt and pepper (Step 3), then broil, turning once, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 165°F, about 15 minutes total.E

Enjoy!

Jacqueline