I found this recipe a while back and had to try it. My husband and I fell in love with it. He has to have it at least twice a week. Sometimes I use boneless, skinless chicken breast in place of the drumsticks--the breasts take less cooking time. Enjoy!

Firecracker Fried Chicken Drumsticks

chicken drumsticks

hot pepper sauce

all-purpose flour

yellow cornmeal

salt

vegetable oil

Remove skin from chicken and place in a resealable plastic bag. Pour sauce over chicken, seal bag, and refrigerate to marinate for at least 1 hour, up to 24 hours. The longer the chicken marinates, the spicier it will be.


Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large skillet to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).


Combine the flour, cornmeal, and salt in another resealable plastic bag. Add the drumsticks, seal bag, and shake to coat.


Fry the chicken, uncovered, for 25 to 30 minutes or until juices run clear. Turn occasionally to brown evenly.


If you have trouble with the breading, it's best to make sure that your oil is very hot. I just got a  deep fryer and find it is better to cook them in there. If the breading is still falling off make sure that when you pull the chicken from the hot sauce that you make sure it isn't dripping wet. Let it quit dripping if you have to. Then make sure the flour mixture coats the chicken very well. Oher than that, I don't know why the breading would fall off. next time you make it and kids have some, try cutting them up into strips. That's the way I have made them from day one. And I always marinate them overnight. The longer the better. Thanks for trying the recipe.

I used boneless chicken breasts and cut them in half lengthwise for shorter cooking time. I marinated them 4 hours in a baggie with hot sauce, some cayenne pepper, season all salt and garlic powder.
For the coating I made an egg wash with 2 eggs, half a cup of milk and a splash of hot sauce.  In another bowl I mixed flour, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper. I cut the chicken in strips and coated them with flour, dipped them in egg wash next then flour again.
In a frying pan I heated oil then fried them.  They were fabulous.  Will definitely be on my Fall list for football season finger food.

Overall, great recipe, great flavor, relatively easy prep, the kids loved it.  However, my coating was coming off in the oil during frying.  I only turned it twice.  Not sure what exactly went wrong with breading.  If breading would have stayed on better, could have been 4-5stars. If you have any suggestions about the breading write back. Thanks!


This was vary good it is the best chicken I have ever had.  I am only 12 years old, and I was able to make it by myself, with minimal supervision. It is great to marinate it the night before you want to have it.  The longer you marinate it, the spicer it gets.

Best chicken ever!  I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts and marinated in Cholula hot sauce all day.  Then mixed up the flour, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, Tony Chacherer's seasoning, salt and pepper.  Then I dipped the chicken breasts into beaten eggs and milk, then flour mixture, eggs again and flour mixture again.  Delicious!  Will definitely use this recipe for chicken again and probably for chicken fried steak and pork chops.

I did as the recipe poster suggested and used chicken breasts cut up into finger like pieces instead of drumsticks.  They did cook faster and absorbed more marinade than the drumsticks did.  I also added garlic powder, about 1/4 cup white vinegar and cayenne pepper to the marinade (my hubby likes things spicy).  Ran low on coating mixture towards the end and thought I had ruined the last batch, but it turned out great regardless.  Have made several times and intend to continue!

My oldest son WOULD NOT eat chicken....until I made this recipe. It has a nice kick to it and I would liken the recipe to Popeye's Chicken and Biscuits Chicken Strips. A variation on this recipe would be to dip it into an egg mixture before the flour/cornstarch mixture and deep fry it.

Good idea, Marinating the chicken beasts in the hot sauce makes the chicken nice and tender. Easy to make and a joy to eat. I have tried it twice and find that adding hot pepper to the dry mix makes it a little hotter then just the red-hot. Also make a dipping sauce with butter and hot sauce goes well.
Thanks

I let it marinate for 4 hours and I was expecting it to be spicer.  I really couldn't taste the hot sauce, but it was good fried chicken.  Also, I used my deep fryer which cuts the cooking time by 10 minutes.

Easy &amp; delicious. All the kids loved it, as well as the grown-ups.

I will definitely marinate longer next time for more intense flavors, but I really like the coating.  I deep fried them and they turned out golden and crispy.

Unbelievable flavor and fairly simple. If you are searching for a delicious spicy fried chicken recipe, look no further. Let it marinate for at least a day. The hotter the oil, the better the breading stays on.

My family said this was absolutely the best chicken I have ever made. It was delicious and easy. I did however switch up the cornmeal for italian breadcrumbs.

Good chicken, I didn't rate it 5 stars because I felt it was too bland. Next time I will add more seasoning and marinate the full 24 hours

This was good - but I could not taste the spice whatsoever in it after letting the chicken marinate in hot sauce for 4 hours.  I will make it again and let the chicken soak in the hot sauce for a full 24 hours to see if that brings in the spice.  The outside was perfectly crisp though, and I had no problem with the breading falling off during frying.  I dumped the chicken in a colander prior to putting it in the breading to drain any excess liquid, and I made sure my oil was plenty hot before adding it in.

Just had these for dinner and it came out okay. I used the Cholula hot sauce and marinated it for about 19 hours and it was not spicy. It could be the hot sauce, next time I will use Tabasco and hopefully it will come out spicy. I didn't have a problem with the flour falling off the chicken as did the other reviewers. The texture of it came out nice and crispy. I used a deep fryer set at 350 and had the chicken fried for about 15 minutes, and it came out golden and crispy. The first batch I made, I fried it for 20 minutes and It was a little  overdone. I would suggest to fry it for 15 minutes then check it. Other than that it was good.

i always double batter my stuff before frying anything my granma told me that an i never have any problems bettering now

just made these usieng cicken tenders and they are delicious.only had time to marinate for 4 hours.the breading is awesome.

Like another review said, try Tuong Ot Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce. My Vietnamese friend introduced it to me years ago and i have been using it ever since to marinade chicken in. Its nice and thick so the breading stays on. I normally use breast meat, but i decided to try it with legs. I didn't like it as much as I thought i would but my husband loved them.

My new favorite fried chicken.  Made this twice, once with just Asian Hot Chili Sauce and once divided the chicken and made 1/2 with  Hot Sauce and the other 1/2 with the Asian Hot Chili Sauce to compare.   The adults preferred the Hot Chili Sauce, for it has more flavor.  My children prefer the Hot Sauce, for it really isnt very hot at all.  I used Tuong Ot Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce, its nice and thick and really coats the drumsticks.  I prefer it over the plain Hot Sauce, for I have no trouble with the batter coming off, as the Hot Sauce is very thin and doesnt really stick to the meat of the chicken.

I don't care for spicy, but DBF gave this 5 stars. He said the breading was perfect, although the whole shebang could have been spicier for his taste. I cooked in a deep fryer, and once they were out I tossed them in a mix of half hot sauce/half margarine, with a dash of garlic powder. Relatively quick and easy; I marinated for about 4 hours, next time I will do it overnight. Thanks for a great recipe, my man cleaned his plate!

Nothing spectacular but it was good. I used Frank's hot sauce and marinated for a couple of hours. It wasn't hot at all.

OH MY GOSH!!!  We loved this!  I marinated all night in Cholula per some other reviews I read.  When I coated with the flour I also added some red pepper flakes, and cayenne.  After frying it up we dipped the chicken in extra Cholula on the side.  I almost passed out it was so delish.  Let me tell you....I feel sorry for the folks out there who have not discovered this website yet.  My cooking used to be so boring....not anymore!

Simple and great. I marinated mine for two nights so I rinsed the hot sauce off before coating and it was nicely spiced. The amount of cooking time was great. I halved the salt, and used only as much oil as I needed (maybe 1 cup by the end) - this recipe is a keeper!

Turned out GREAT, nice &amp; spicy! Went perfect with some BBQ sauce!

I BAKED THIS AND IT WAS WONDERFUL!!  THANK YOU!!

This is a really good recipe. I refrigerated the chicken after coating with the flour for about 25 minutes and the coating did not come off.  I kept the oil between 300 and 325  and my chicken was done in just under 20 minutes. I will be making this recipe again.

I would give this no stars if i could. I really don't know how so many people liked it. It tasted sour and bitter to me and the coating on the chicken did not stay on and gave nothing to the over all flavor of the dish. My boyfriend thought it was ok but i couldn't even finish mine.

These were pretty good.  Changed the recipe a little bit though.  Used Shake n' Bake instead of flour and cornmeal, and baked instead of frying.

And to the person below that was confused about the oil, none goes in the marinade, it's all for frying.  The marinade is the hot sauce only.

I used chicken breasts because that's what I had available.  I also used tapatio hot sauce, since I'm not a fan of hot pepper sauce.  I think it could have used a lot more hot sauce than what was listed.  I even let it marinade for around 3 hours.  Maybe next time I'll let it go for an entire day.  That should up the spiciness.

My whole family liked this!  I did make a few changes.  I marinated the chicken legs with skin in hot sauce &amp; Chili powder for 2 hours, rubbing the marinade under the skin as well.  Then made an egg wash with milk &amp; eggs, then made a breading with flour, garlic salt &amp; chili powder.  I deep fried it first to get a crispy brown skin, then baked it for about 15 minutes on 400 degrees &amp; it turned out great!  Will definitely make again!  Though next time I may try skinless boneless chicken breast cut in strips.  Served with hot sauce &amp; butter dip &amp; ranch!  YUM!!!

I guess what I am rating is the breading because I didn't do the hot sauce thing.i just left my chicken overnight in salt water  and then followed the recipe for the breading. I had no problem with the breading falling off or sticking. I used wings and drumeets. It came out really good and flavorful. I will be doing this again. Next time maybe I will try the got sauce if I make it for someone who likes spicy stuff.

Very delicious! This one is a keeper that all of my family asks for repeatedly.  I marinate 2 batches - 1 as per recipe for the kids, and 1 adding a substantial amount of Tabasco to raise the heat level.  I like chicken breast strips or deboned thighs to lessen cooktime.  Hint:  Cover your cooktop with foil so the grease splatters are easier to clean up!

I marinated the chicken over night and it was perfect. Not too spicy but very flavorful. Thanks for the recipe!

I love this recipe!  So quick and easy and it has just enough kick to make it extra tasty!  I highly recommend you try it out!

I made this recipe for dinner tonight, And may I just say DELISH!!! I did use cholula, as i read in one of the reviews, added a bit of old bay to the flour mixture, and cut the bnless/skinless breasts  into chicken fingers and deep fried.. My husband and nephew had forks and fingers flying..LOL was a joy to watch them eat.

Made last night with drumsticks. I marinated in franks red hot and texas pete. I also added cayenne pepper, crushed red pepper and paprika to the flour. We love it! Cant wait to use it on chicken breasts next time. ty for the recipe! 

Good, good, good!  We only eat breasts so that is what I used.  Did an egg wash w/ few splashes hot sauce in it.  Dredged in flour/corn meal w/ cayenne. Marinated all day (8 hours). I've also used boneless/skinless ckn breasts and cut into strips for spicy tenders.  Then melt 1/2 stick butter in saucepan, add bottle of tabasco and squirt of honey.  I then pour this over the chicken or use as a dipping sauce!  DELISH!

Absolutely delicious.  I generally don't like dark poultry meat, but it didn't matter this time.  Just the right amount of spice for our family as well.  I suggest skinning the chicken while it is partially froze.  Much easier.

A wonderful recipe, the whole family loved it!! Dipped in egg first and added garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper to the flour mix as suggested.... Will definetley use thies gem again..... thanks

This was a very good recipe.  The one mistake I made was...the oil wasn't hot enough for the first batch, therefore some of the coating came off.  Got it right on the 2nd batch and it was extremely crunchy on the outside and yummy!  Thanks!

I used skinless bonelss thighs, added 2 tsp spicy oil to marinade,added garlic powder, Herbamare seasoned salt and Club House spicy pepper medley to flour, placed breaded chicken on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and baked at 325 degree for 25 mins.  This turned out moist and flavourful.

This is my new favorite fried chicken recipe.. DH loves it too

I couldn't remember it exactly and didn't have access to it, so what I did was marinate them in Frank's hot sauce for about 30 minutes, coated them in flour and deep fried them, then dipped them in wing sauce.  It was the most delicious chicken I've ever had!  I'd make it again, but it was too spicy for the boyfriend.  Maybe some wimpy ones for him will do the trick!

This was very tasty and we all loved it, although we were expecting spicier.  Definitely let the chicken marinate as long as possible.  I tried both the skinless drumsticks and boneless skinless breasts cut into uniform strips using my new deepfryer.  Both were delicious, but I'll probably do just the breasts for ease when I make this again.  The coating is tasty and a nice change.  We only could taste a hint of the hot sauce (we used Frank's) on the chicken.  We like our wings hot, so we had to add more hot sauce for dipping, and served blue cheese on the side.

Darn kids won't stop asking for this! Every week they ask for the spicy drumsticks. Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

Great recipe. Next time I will add 1/4 t. to 1/2 t. of cayenne to the flour to kick up flavor.

Kids &amp; adults both loved this.  It was full of flavor, tender and not too spicy for anyone.  Another great recipe to add to the box.  Thanks!!

My husband and I loved this recipe. I am not originally from the south so fried chicken is not something that comes easy for me. I have messed up fried chicken chicken twice in the past and vowed never to make it again. (I do have my pride after all) I have since been diagnosed with a gluten allergy (wheat, barley, and rye) and cannot not eat fried chicken in a restaurant. I made this with gluten-free all purpose flour, gluten-free corn meal and gluten free hot sauce. This turned our great! My husband, who did grow up in the south, said this could be served in any restaurant! Thanks for the recipe!

I waited to review until I had made this twice, first with drumsticks and the second with breast. The breast worked best. My problem with it both times was the lack of heat, not much firecracker to them. I also had a hard time with the coating falling off every time I turned over a piece.

The kids enjoyed these after marinating for only 1-2 hours.  If you like it spicy I would suggest longer marinating and adding paprika and cayenne pepper to the batter.

I have been told that if you refridgerate the chicken after it is coated the coating will stay put.(15-20min)

Definitely good, not over the top, though.  I marinated for almost 24 hours and it had a little kick but not much.  It did have nice flavor.  I might make it again, if I get a request, but the frying was a lot of work and a lot of mess.  

Since hot sauce has plenty of it, I eliminated the salt and added in my own seasonings. Used this with tilapia and my family absolutely LOVED it! Thank you, Tisha! 

This was very good! We love spicy chicken around here and so this hit the spot! I'm not even very good at frying chicken, but this turned out very yummy!

Never tried frying drumsticks before. Easy recipe. I used tabasco sauce and a deepfryer. It only took 13 min for me at 375 degrees.

I have never ever cooked chicken before, and I came across this recipe that is easy enough. The finished product turned out okay. Not bad for my first chicken dish. On my gas stove, the estimated time was longer than what it took to actually cook, I'd say about 20 mintues is good enough. I let the marinade sit for two hours, but I didn't find this spicy at all. Next time, I will try and let sit overnight and try a much spicer hot sauce or maybe a jerk chicken marinade and also, adding a bit of garlic or ground cayenne may even help add to the flavor. This was easy enough to follow and still tasty regardless of spice factor. I will try more variations on this recipe to perfect it.

by far my favorite fried chicken recipe. i marinate the drums overnight, sometimes with a variety of hot sauces. wow! love it - love it - love it

Added some additional ingredients to spice it up.  Great Recipe.

This recipe was awesome!  As I read in a couple reviews, I too first used an egg wash to make sure the coating would stick and added a little cayenne &amp; garlic powder to the dry mixture and melted some butter and combined it with sriracha sauce for a GREAT dipping sauce.  Will definitely be making this again!

I love this and it has inspired me to branch out with this recipe. The Drumsticks were such a hit! I love to get some friends together for a fried chicken night and make some home made mashed potatos, biscuits and gravy! YUMMM! Thanks for the great recipe! 

I also tried this with Chicken Tenders and my husband really enjoyed it. The last time I made this, I used Thin Chicken Breasts and put on Hamburger Buns with Pepperjack Cheese, Bacon, Lettuce, and Ranch dressing! Everyone loved them.

Excellent recipe! I let the drumsticks soak overnight- and it was delicious! Fixed a boneless breast for my mother - she loved it!!!
We will definitely be fixing this one on a regular basis.

Very good!  I actually froze my chicken breasts with the hot sauce and added pepper to it.  Then added cayenne pepper, garlic powder, salt &amp; pepper to the flour mixture.  They turned out very juicy &amp; delicious.  The kids loved them.

great, thank you for showing me a different way to make fry chicken.

A little bit too "Hooters" for me, but the kids loved it

Wow! These were tastey. I cut up some chicken breasts before church and covered them with Franks hot wing sauce and placed in the fridge. When I got home I only had to batter the strips and fry. I didn't use very much oil and cooked about 5-7 minutes each side. These had a WONDERFUL taste. These are easy to make and much cheaper than the strips from Tyson. This will become one of our regulars. Thanks for the recipe!

nice flavor, not very spicy though.I did add granualated garlic and pepper to the flour mix and cooked it in the deep fryer. overall good  recipe. Will make again.

I like this recipe.  1 hour to marinate is not enough and 24 hours is too spicy for me.  It depends on the pepper sauce used, I'm sure.

I made this recipe twice.  First time using drumsticks and again using chicken breast cut up into strips.  I would recommend using the chicken breast instead of drumsticks, it cooks so much faster and the breading stays on the chicken, when I made the drumsticks there was no coating left after all the cooking.  The flavour is very nice.  Everyone enjoyed this so much!

These were good, but not great. Try them out. However, I will not make these again.

Awesome recipe. I marinated the chicken for about 18 hours, but it wasn't spicy at all. Great flavor, but not spicy. That was fine with me as I had assumed I wouldn't be able to eat these (made them with my fiance in mind). I made an egg wash with 1 egg, a splash of milk, and a little garlic powder. I also added cayenne pepper and black pepper to the flour coating. I coated in flour, then egg, then flour again. I was nervous as this was my first time frying chicken, but it turned out very well! Thank you, I'll make these again soon! 

Used with chicken breasts and put on bakery buns for spicy chicken sandwiches!  Add a little cayenne pepper to the breading for an extra kick!  Delicious!

these are always welcome at super bowl parties! I use Franks Red Hot wing sauce, worcestershire and cayenne and leave the skin on to soak for at least 24 hours. I add more cayenne to the batter as a lot of the sauce burns off in the oil. Make sure the oil  is HOT. Awesome for chicken fingers too.

The chicken tasted good... the only problem was my eyes - they burned for hours after making this...

Used drumsticks as recipe called for it. Also used egg/milk dip before dredging in the flour. Fried until golden brown and then finished in a hot oven and it came out great.

One word, "YUM".  That's what everyone said when my husband made this recipe.  It was so easy and really good.  I can't wait 'til the next time he makes it.  Thanks for your recipe, Tisha.

This was not a healthy dinner. My family and I like spicy, but, this wasn't that spicy after marinating for 8 hours. I even added Red Hot to the egg/milk mix before dipping it in the cornmeal breading. I also am not a fan of frying and the breading didn't stay on even after dipping in the egg mix. I won't make this again.  

Delicious!!!! The only thing I did different was add a lil seasoning salt prior to marinating.

this recipie was a big hit for a dinner party i had. they were very delicious

This was so easy and SOOOO DELICIOUS.    Even though you marinate the drumsticks in hot sauce the chicken, when cooked, is not very hot.   I made 6 drumsticks for the two of us.  I ate two and my other half ate the other four.   WOW.    This is on my "keep" list.

Marinated my chicken 6+ hours and it still had no flavor or heat.  Also did not care for the cornmeal mixed with the flour. Will not make again.

The chicken tasted great, but I was expecting a little more spice/heat.  I used Frank's Hot Sauce and marinated for 3 hours, but could not really taste it at all.  Next time, I'll use a hotter sauce (like Tabasco) or marinate overnight.  Otherwise, the coating was great and the drumsticks fried up perfectly in about 25 minutes.

This was really delicious!  I used wings and drummets for a family gathering and everyone loved it....the platter was empty before I had a chance for seconds.  One thing I will keep in mind when I make this again is to double the hot sauce (I didn't think it was spicy enough even after marinating it overnight.)

this is a really good one all of my family loves it

1rst time FIVE STARS: Very easy and very yummy, I did cover them with the flour mix first then in egg then with the mix. My children loved them. 

2.d time ONE STAR:  The drumstiks started bleeding like crazy as I fried them. When I took them out of the frying pan they were covered in blood and nobody wanted to eat them. I dont know how to avoid this.

3rd time: I havent done them again, but I found this advice here in all recipes: "In response to the person who did not like the blood coming out of the chicken. Soak the chicken in 1/4 cup of salt for at least an hour, it will draw out the blood." I'll do it like that next time.

This recipe is excellent. I let my drumsticks soak for five hours and they were flavored just right. I will only make my fried chicken like this from now on!

Wow!! Where's the fire in firecracker??  Ok, so next time I need to double the hot pepper sause and maybe add some spices.  Have to say though my little 3 year old scrapped 2 leggs clean! The breading was great also. I am planning to make this again

VERY good!  We used Frank's Red Hot - it's a staple in this house!!    

This got rave reviews from my husband who doesn't normally rave about anything.  Next time I plan on marinating it longer (only marinated it for about an hour) and that's about it.  Fantastic recipe.  Thanks!

Troy really loved these.  Didn't have cornmeal so I just added some breadcrumbs instead. We used Franks Red Hot Sauce.  It wasn't spicy, but tasted like hot sauce.  Really tender. 

This is really good, but just as a helpful hint though, try dipping the chicken in flour, then some egg, and then your breading mixture before you put in in the frying pan.  Also, make sure the pan is hot before you put the chicken in.  I've found that working with a deep fryer is much easier though.  This is really good though.  My Hubby likes hot food, so I'm always in search of something new, and this turned out great.

These were tasty however not that hot. If you like really spicy chicken, add a bit more of the hot sauce. 

I just made this for dinner for my boyfriend and I. I used a pound of chicken breasts and cut them up into 1-2 inch strips. I also used a mixture of 1/3 cup of buffalo sauce and a teaspoon of chipotle sauce instead of the hot pepper sauce for the marinade. I used white corn meal instead of yellow, but i don't think that made much of a difference. Oh! and i also added a teaspoon of Tony Chachere's Famous Creole Seasoning to the coating mixture. I only marinated the chicken for about 2 hours, but the buffalo sauce mixture really added a nice kick! Thanks for sharing the recipe!

Did this with drumsticks ( skin on). Amazing...

Unfortunatley I didn't have any cornmeal but the chicken was fantastic without it.   Very easy way to spice up fried chicken.  This recipe is a favourite now.

firecracker fried chicken drumsticks

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total: 1 hours, 50 minutes

Servings: 4

Author : TISHA ANN

Ingredients

Instructions

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