Chicken Potato Cheese Bombs
We’ve got boiled chicken and mashed potato mixed together with cheese. Pack that back around the drumstick bone and bread it and fry it till it’s golden brown. You end up with something that looks like a drumstick and tastes like a croquette. The bone is your handle. They’re a little time consuming, but honestly making them is half the fun!
What You’ll Need For Chicken Potato Drumsticks
| Ingredient | Notes |
|---|---|
| Chicken drumsticks | We’re boiling these, shredding the meat and saving the bones. Everything else gets built around that. |
| Golden potatoes | Peeled, boiled, and mashed completely smooth. |
| Shredded cheese | Any kind you want. You can put some in the mix and add more around the outside of the bone. |
| Cornstarch | This is what makes the chicken potato mixture hold together like dough. |
| Garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika | For seasoning. |
| Salt and black pepper | Season the mixture and salt the potato water. |
| Flour, eggs, panko | Your typical breading station. Followed in that order. |
| Oil | For frying. Enough to fill the pan halfway. |
| Dipping sauce | Whatever you like! |
Find the exact measurements below in the recipe card.
Author’s Notes
That’s One Step That I Did Not Do
These take some time to make but they’re worth it, and it’s a fun twist to eat some chicken.
You do need to remove the skin. That’s one step that I did not do. Remove the skin beforehand, or you can always just boil it and then remove it. Pretty easy to come off.
I recommend you try it at least one time, or if you really enjoy the process you can go ahead and do it multiple times. They’re very good. I recommend these for dinner. Serve them with some rice or your favorite side, some roasted vegetables.
Miguel
How to Make Chicken Potato Drumsticks
Boil your drumsticks till the meat is cooked through and tender.
Pull the meat off the bones and shred it. Discard any tendon and cartilage you find as you shred. Set the bones aside on a plate when you’re done.
Peel and cut your potatoes, toss them in salted water and boil till fork tender. Drain and mash smooth.
Mix the chicken, potato, cheese, cornstarch and seasonings together till it’s dough like.
Wet your hands. This mixture will stick to you like glue. If you have issues you can wear gloves or rub a little oil on your hands between each one.
Flatten a piece of the mixture into a thick patty. Place a bone in the middle. Add a small handful of cheese around the bone. Wrap the mixture up around the bone tightly and roll it between your hands to get a drumstick shape.
Repeat with the rest.
Set up your breading station with flour, eggs and panko, in that order. Coat each drumstick in flour, dip in egg, then roll in panko.
Heat enough oil in a skillet to reach halfway up the sides of the chicken drumsticks. Fry them till golden brown on all sides, flipping once halfway through.
Transfer them to a wire rack to drain.
Recipe times and temperatures are down in the recipe card.
Remove Drumstick Skin
Okay this is where I should have done better. Remove the skin from your chicken drumsticks.
Boiled chicken skin isn’t going to crisp up or render down. It’s going to get soft and chewy. If shredded bits end up in your mixture you’re going to have chewy bits in something that should be smooth. The breading is doing all the crispy work here, the skin doesn’t add anything.
You can pull the skin off before you boil the chicken. Easier if the chicken is raw. You can also boil them with the skin on, then pull it off afterwards. It slips right off after boiling. Do whichever you prefer. Just don’t forget like I did.
Keep Your Hands Wet!
The mixture is going to stick to you. A lot. Don’t fight it.
Wet your hands, wear gloves, rub a little oil on them. Just reload between each drumstick. If your hands are dry the mixture will rip apart when you’re trying to shape it. You’ll lose more to your hands trying to scrape it off than you will making them.
Make sure you wrap it nice and tight. Any gap you leave will open up when it hits the oil.
Make-Ahead and Storage
The potato chicken mixture can be made ahead and refrigerated till you’re ready to build them. They’ll even hold together better if they’re cold when you go to shape them.
You can also build them ahead, bread them and store covered in the fridge till you’re ready to fry them.
Leftovers keep well in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days. Reheat in an oven or air fryer to crisp up the panko. The microwave will make it soggy.
Tips from Miguel
- Don’t throw away any bones! Clean them off as you shred the chicken and set them aside. You need one per drumstick.
- Wet your hands between each one. Not just at the beginning.
- Wrap those babies tight. Any gap you leave will get bigger when it hits the fryer.
- Don’t let them sit on a plate after frying. Always use a wire rack.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use my air fryer?
You can get close, but they won’t be exactly the same. The panko will crisp up in the air fryer, just not the way it does in oil. Spray them generously if you give it a go. You can bake them too, they just won’t be very crispy.
Why did mine fall apart?
Usually it comes down to a loose wrap or a mixture that was too wet. Double check that your potatoes were drained well and that the mixture isn’t too sticky before it goes into the flour. It should hold its shape when you’re done mixing.
What kind of cheese should I use?
Anything that melts! Really the cheese you put inside is just a bonus pocket, so go with something that melts well over a strong flavor.
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Chicken Potato Cheese Bombs on a Stick
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Remove the skin from the drumsticks. You can pull it before boiling, or boil first and pull it after when it slips right off.
- Place the drumsticks in a large pot, cover with water, and boil for about 45 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and tender.
- Remove the chicken and let it cool enough to handle. Pull all the meat from the bones, removing any tendons, cartilage and small pieces of bone. Shred the meat and set the clean bones aside. You need one bone per drumstick.
- Peel the golden potatoes and cut them into chunks. Boil them in salted water until completely fork tender, then drain well and mash them smooth.
- In a large bowl, combine the shredded chicken, mashed potatoes, shredded cheese, cornstarch, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, salt and black pepper. Mix until you have a dough like mixture that holds together.
- Wet your hands or gloves, or rub them with a little oil. The mixture is sticky and dry hands will tear it apart as you shape. Reload between each one.
- Flatten a portion of the mixture into a thick patty. Place a cleaned bone in the center and add a little more shredded cheese around it if you want. Fold the mixture around the bone and shape it firmly into a drumstick, pressing well so it stays put in the oil. Repeat until all the mixture and bones are used.
- Set up three bowls with flour, beaten eggs and panko. Coat each drumstick in flour, then egg, then panko until fully covered.
- Heat a shallow pan with enough oil to come about halfway up the drumsticks. Bring the oil to approximately 350°F. Fry until golden brown and crispy, flipping halfway through so both sides cook evenly.
- Transfer to a wire rack to drain so the bottoms stay crispy. Serve hot with your favorite dipping sauce.
