Instant Pot Chicken Legs (with Herb Rub)

Instant Pot Chicken Leg Quarters recipe. Chicken legs are quick and easy in an Instant Pot. I sprinkle them with salt, herbs, and spices, then brown the skin, 2 legs at a time, before pressure cooking them for 30 minutes with a Natural Release.

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• INGREDIENTS
• How to make Instant Pot Chicken Leg Quarters
• Substitutions
• Tips and Tricks
• Instant Pot Chicken Legs Recipe
• What do you think?
• Related Posts
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One of my favorite French recipes is Poulet au Pot - chicken in a pot, simmered in broth until it falls off the bone. Pressure cooker chicken leg quarters are my weeknight version when I need dinner on the table with as little work as possible. A pack of whole chicken legs, some dried herbs, and a half cup of water, and I have dinner on the table in about an hour, with most of the time spent staring at the pressure cooker.

INGREDIENTS

• 6 chicken legs (aka "chicken leg quarters" or "chicken quarters")
• 2 teaspoons fine sea salt (⅓ teaspoon per leg)
• 1½ teaspoons dried Italian Seasoning (¼ teaspoon per leg)
• ¾ teaspoons garlic powder (⅛ teaspoon per leg)
• ¾ teaspoons fresh ground black pepper (⅛ teaspoon per leg)
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil or olive oil
• ½ cup water (or chicken broth)

How to make Instant Pot Chicken Leg Quarters

Season and brown the chicken legs

Sprinkle the chicken legs evenly with the salt, Italian Seasoning, garlic powder, and fresh ground black pepper. Heat the tablespoon of oil in an Instant Pot set to Sauté mode - high (medium-high heat in a stovetop pressure cooker). When the oil is shimmering, about 3 minutes, brown the chicken skin in batches. Put two chicken legs in the pot, skin side down - each leg should lay flat. Cook without moving until the skin is browned, about 4 minutes. Move the browned legs to a bowl, then repeat with the remaining legs. Pour any chicken fat out of the pot.

Pressure cook the chicken legs for 30 minutes with a Natural Pressure Release

Pour ½ cup of water into the pot. Leaving the pot in Sauté mode, bring the water to a simmer, scraping any browned bits of chicken from the bottom of the pan with a flat-edged wooden spoon. Once all the browned bits are scraped up, add the chicken legs and any chicken juices in the bowl. Lock the lid and pressure cook on high pressure for 30 minutes in an Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker or for 25 minutes in a stovetop PC. (Use Manual, Pressure Cook, or Pressure Cook - Custom mode in an Instant Pot.) Let the pressure come down naturally, for about 15 more minutes. Serve, passing the liquid in the pot on the side as a sauce. Enjoy!

Substitutions

Other Herb or Spice Mixes

You can substitute any herb or spice mix for the Italian seasoning. Just make sure they don't have salt in them, or if they do, skip the fine sea salt. (If there is more than just a blend of herbs, like if you're using an all-purpose spice blend, replace the garlic powder and black pepper with the spice blend too.)
My favorite spice blends for chicken are:

• Herbes de Provence for a taste of the South of France
• Adobo Seasoning (skip the salt) for a Latin American flavor
• Cajun Seasoning (skip the salt) for a taste of New Orleans
• Montreal Steak Seasoning (skip the salt) for some French Canadian flair
• BBQ Rub (and then I brush them with BBQ sauce after cooking)
• Dried Thyme when I want to keep it simple
  You get the idea - almost any spice blend will work in this recipe.

Chicken thighs or drumsticks only

You can do this recipe with chicken thighs or chicken drumsticks

Tips and Tricks

Browning the chicken skin

Now, when I said "the least amount of work possible," there is one part of this recipe that requires a little work-browning the legs. You can skip this step, but I don't recommend it. Browning makes the skin taste much better because pressure cooking is a wet cooking environment and does not lead to crispy skin; golden brown skin adds flavor and keeps the skin from being flabby. Also, the browned bits on the bottom of the pot make a rich sauce, and browning renders some of the fat in chicken legs. It's worth the extra 15 minutes.

De-fat the sauce

If you have the time, de-fat the sauce. Pour the liquid from the pot into a [fat separator] and let it rest for a few minutes so the fat floats to the top. Then, pour the de-fatted sauce into a serving bowl.

Can I substitute chicken breasts

For those of you asking, "Can I substitute chicken breast?" If you insist, you can, but chicken legs are perfect for this recipe. I've said before that I'm a fan of the dark side of the chicken, especially in the pressure cooker. Dark meat is more forgiving in the high heat of pressure cooking; overcook it, and you still get tender meat and juicy chicken. (Chicken legs are best when they are fall off the bone tender.) White meat is best when it is perfectly cooked at 160°F; overcook it just a little and it turns stringy and dry. (Also, chicken legs are shockingly cheap when I can get them on sale at my grocery store.)

Can I cook frozen chicken leg quarters in an Instant Pot?

Yes, but they won't be as good because you can't brown or season them before cooking. Skip the browning step. After cooking, sprinkle the salt, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and black pepper on the chicken. Add an extra five minutes to the pressure cooking time (35 minutes in an Instant Pot or other pressure cooker).

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What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

Related Posts

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Pressure Cooker Chicken Stew
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Instant Pot Chicken Drumsticks with Potatoes
Instant Pot Chicken Legs and Rice
Air Fryer Breaded Chicken Thighs with Potatoes
My other Pressure Cooker Recipes

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