How Many Pounds of Drumsticks per Person For A Big Crowd
Planning an event or celebratory dinner ahead and don’t know what to serve your guests? The best answer is chicken drumsticks, of course! Everyone (and their mamas) loves them, they’re easy and fun to make, and you can serve it to a crowd of people.
Chicken drumsticks are even better than their thigh counterparts because they contain more of that chicken meat you know you love. It’s simply the most superior part of a chicken and it can also be cooked in a variety of ways: roasted, frying, grilling, steaming, sautéed, and baking.
But do not forget Chicken Wings for a party and chicken nuggets for a kid’s birthday party – they are loved as well. And many people will prefer an average-sized chicken breast over a drumstick.
If you don’t know how much to serve your guests, don’t panic!
How Many Chicken Drumsticks in A Serving
Just remember this golden rule: serve half a pound of drumsticks per person—that is equal to about two chicken drumsticks per person.
How Much does One Drumstick Weigh
An average drumstick wwiegts 4 oz.
One of the greatest things about cooking chicken drumsticks for your parties, intimate gatherings, holidays, or any other celebratory meals with friends or family is that everyone loves a freshly cooked chicken drumstick. You can never go wrong with it!
Handy Table For How Many Chicken Drumsticks to Serve at a Party
For the specific and precise calculations per pound and per piece of drumsticks to serve, refer to the table below:
| People | Amount of Drumsticks in Pounds | Amount of Drumsticks in Pieces |
| 1 | 0.5 | 2 |
| 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 5 | 2.5 | 10 |
| 10 | 5 | 20 |
| 15 | 7.5 | 30 |
| 20 | 10 | 40 |
| 50 | 25 | 100 |
Will People Need Seconds
Most likely! There will be instances where you’ve invited big eaters among your guests who love to take seconds especially when it comes to chicken drumsticks. Remember not to overcompensate for the actual number of guests you have at your party or else you’d be left with too many leftovers.
You can also opt not to serve extras especially if there are children involved. They’d eat about 1 whole piece of a chicken drumstick at best.
Another reason would be that your other guests will look forward to whatever recipes you’re also going to serve at the event, which also includes dessert.
How Much Drumsticks For Different Events And Occasions
It depends on how many guests you’re inviting and what the occasion is. For example, intimate gatherings such as holiday dinners will usually involve inviting your family, relatives, and some friends over. In this case, you would only need to worry about serving a range from 5 to 15 people.
Big events with lots of guests in it like weddings, birthday parties, and year-end parties would need about 30-50 servings of chicken drumsticks. In case your guest list reaches 50 or more people, don’t hesitate to go over the recommended 25 pounds or 100 chicken drumsticks per person rule.
How Long Should Drumsticks Be Cooked For
When oven-baking drumsticks, it will take about 40 minutes for them to be fully cooked but you can take them out sooner if they’ve already reached an internal temperature of 175°F. Remember to flip them halfway, at around 20 minutes. So, the individual time for each side of the drumsticks is 20 minutes.
With regards to grilling drumsticks, it will take about 30 minutes to cook them but you have to flip every 10 minutes so that each side is cooked evenly. You can also opt to wait for their internal temperature to reach 165°F. After removing it from the grill, let the chicken sit for 5 minutes before serving.
If you crave fried chicken drumsticks, it will take 20 to 25 minutes for shallow frying and 12 to 14 minutes for deep-frying. Allow the drumsticks to rest two minutes before serving. Also, make sure that your drumsticks are well-coated with the breading of your choice.
What Are Some Tips In Cooking Drumsticks
Make sure you store uncooked chicken drumsticks inside an air-tight bag in the refrigerator and place it far from other items so that it doesn’t drip on anything else. The refrigerator temperature should be at 40°F or below. You can also opt to freeze it at 0°F or below then thaw it in the fridge when you cook it.
If you don’t know whether to cover the drumsticks while cooking them or not, think of the way you want to present them to your guests. If you want a golden-brown appearance, don’t cover but when you want them steamed, close using a lid.
You don’t have to marinate drumsticks but for the best results, you have to! Use a brush when marinating for the drumsticks to be cooked evenly.
What Ingredients Can You Add In Drumsticks
When in doubt, use herbs and spices! This includes basil, rosemary, thyme, minced garlic, and some classic salt and pepper. Other herbs like cilantro, sage, and oregano; and spices like cayenne pepper, onion or garlic powder, and paprika can also work.
You can also use seasonings such as ranch seasoning, honey butter, lemon pepper, barbecue, and taco seasoning (yes, this is definitely a thing consisting of paprika, cumin, cayenne pepper, chili powder, salt, oregano, and pepper), and teriyaki.
For dips and sauces, you can try ranch dressing, bbq sauce, honey mustard sauce, or even just ketchup and mayonnaise, you’d already be good to go!
What To Serve With Drumsticks
Side dishes you can use as companions for chicken drumsticks are broccoli rice, mashed potatoes, coleslaw, potato or caesar salad, sautéed vegetables, roasted carrots, or cauliflower, mac and cheese, pasta, casseroles, and dinner rolls.
For beverages, if you want to incorporate an Asian twist when serving chicken drumsticks, you can use sake. You can also use other alcoholic beverages such as wine (sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, pinot noir, riesling, and champagne) and beer. For non-alcoholic options, try lemonade, soda, cider, and black tea.