Winner, winner...

It is a funny thing learning to cook in my sixties. 

The things that most of you have done for many decades that are second nature to you are all new to me. 

There is so much that I do not know.

Leslie was working late at the office and I asked her if I could cook dinner? 

She bought some organic chicken drumsticks last night at Sprouts at a great deal. 

She readily assented.

My last chicken experience didn't do so well, I was figuring out the new range and I botched the preheat. 

I wanted to redeem myself, I patted the chicken down, laid it on a rack with cut potatoes and gave everything a spritz of duck fat spray. 

I drizzled a bit of olive oil onto the chicken as well with a kitchen pastry brush and then started rubbing in some herbs de provence, salt, pepper, paprika and garlic, along with a secret herb or two. 

I splashed the whole thing with a lemon and stuck it into a 400 degree oven under convection bake.

Now it is funny, my thermometer chose a target internal temp of 185 degrees while my oven book said 165. 

I chose 175 in order to find a happy medium. 

Took about forty minutes, I flipped the legs at 20 and gave it a broil for the last four.

The flip really causes a lot of heat loss. 

It took a while to get back to the right ambient temperature. 

Anyway I thought, just how hot should you cook drumsticks? I decided to consult the internet and found this site.

Interesting. 

I did not know that legs need more time than anything else because there is more connective tissue. 

I coincidentally cooked to their preferred temp and it turned out great. Glad I didn't go to the 185 the thermometer recommended.

But I learned something else. 

Just because there is pink doesn't mean it is undercooked. If it is 165 or over the nasty bacteria is not a problem and you are good. 

There might be other reasons for the pink, such as a surfeit of myoglobin, age of the bird (young bird marrow is purple) and ph levels. But none of them make a bit of difference!

Leslie got home just as the legs were coming hot out of the oven, table set, kitchen clean, everything delicious. She was happy.

Bon appetit!