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Cooked chicken leg on a plate with cherry tomatoes with a pinch mitt in the background

Instant Pot Chicken Legs Recipe


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5 from 26 reviews

  • Author: Mike Vrobel
  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Yield: 6 chicken legs 1x

Description

Pressure Cooker Chicken Legs with Herb Rub recipe - hands off chicken legs with pan sauce from the pressure cooker.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 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)

Instructions

  1. 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.
  2. 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!

Notes

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.

  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 55 minutes
  • Category: Pressure Cooker
  • Cuisine: American