How Gordon Ramsay Gets Flavor Deep Inside Chicken Legs

Chef Gordon Ramsay is famous for his lightning-fast cooking and tough-to-impress persona. But you actually don't need to be a gourmand to wow him. There are a few simple recipes Ramsay believes everyone should know how to make, such as burgers, poached eggs, and cake. In addition, he thinks all home cooks should have a top-tier chicken dish in their repertoire. To start you on the right foot, take the chef's clever tip for infusing chicken legs with as much flavor as possible.

"Score chicken legs so the hot, spicy flavors get deep inside the meat. Rub thoroughly with the jerk mix and marinade," Ramsay said in a demo of his rendition of jerk chicken. He slathered the poultry in a mix of Scotch bonnet chiles, chopped garlic, fresh thyme, and dry spices, combined in olive oil. After coating the chicken (and marinating it, as the recipe advises), he browned the legs in a pan, deglazed with Worcestershire sauce, and finished cooking them in the oven.

He scored the drumsticks diagonally through the skin, a process that can apply to chicken thighs as well, especially bone-in. In the past, he has also advised puncturing chicken thighs to guarantee they cook through. "Take your knife, get the tip ... and just gently go through ... When we start to sear those thighs, all that heat goes through to the bone and there's no pink," Ramsay explained in a segment of "Next Level Kitchen."

The advice to score or puncture chicken is one of Gordon Ramsay's best cooking tips. Doing so not only helps the marinade and seasonings infuse the meat for more flavorful results, but also ensures the chicken cooks completely. Better yet, it can reduce the cooking time. The incisions facilitate more even heating at both thick and thin points in the meat and simultaneously maximize the crispness and color of the skin.

While some viewers felt Gordon Ramsay's jerk chicken didn't resemble traditional Jamaican recipes, others praised his methods. "I ... love your technique and that looks very beautiful," one Facebook user wrote. "My Puerto Rican mom has been doing this ever since I was born. I always thought it was a very common cooking tip for chicken," one Instagram user said. "Thank you for that! I love my chicken, but my husband is super picky about making sure all meats are cooked or overcooked so we don't get sick," added another.

There are plenty of chicken drumstick recipes that can be improved with Ramsay's advice. For example, you could try our take on baked chicken legs, which stars a simple dry rub of garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, and chili powder. You can score the legs before incorporating that blend. Mashed also has a Southwest-spiced air fryer chicken legs recipe, which has a smokier, spicier flavor profile. Simply score the legs to ensure the slightly sweet, herby marinade penetrates every morsel.