I've been putting this off for a while now, but the chicken legs have been in the fridge for about four days, so I thought I'd better do something quick, 'cause they probably should've been in the freezer by now.
Anyway, I just started off simple. I brushed the legs with olive oil, and then I applied salt, pepper, and paprika while it was grilling.
Major problem was the chicken legs sticking to the grill. I have no idea how to prevent this. I read you need to oil up the grill pretty good, but since this is a grill pan, I don't think it's a good idea to brush the grill. Last time I did that, the brush was picking up burnt flakes. Don't know whether it was coming off the grill, or the brush was burning, or what. The brush is from Le Creuset, and it claims to withstand 700 degrees.
Because the chicken legs kept sticking to the grill pan, I just couldn't get the grill marks. The skin would just peel off, when I pull the chicken off the grill pan. Maybe I didn't get the grill pan hot enough?
From what I've read, the chicken should be good to turn over in 3-5 minutes. I waited around 10 minutes, and the chicken was still stuck like a tongue to a frozen pole. I had to force it off, and when I did this, the grill marks were gone.
Overall, I probably grilled the chicken legs for around 25 minutes, because I was trying to get the grill marks... yet it kept sticking.
With the way things were going, I decided to just stick the grill pan into the oven to finish off the chicken legs. 350 degrees, 20 mins per side, is what I read, but I just baked it 15 mins per side, considering how long they were on the stove.
My thermometer registered the chicken legs at 160+, so that's when I pulled it out, but I didn't know I had to wait for it to reach 180 with dark meat... hope I don't get sick... the chicken was in the fridge for 4 days...
The finished product was okay, I guess. I cooked five chicken legs, and oddly enough, only one of 'em was burnt. Don't know why... I thought the cast iron grill pan distributed heat evenly.
There were parts of the chicken that crisped up really well, and it was heavenly. But there were more parts that were just bland, because the seasoning/skin came off, due to it redundantly sticking.
Any advice on preventing the chicken skin from sticking to the grill pan would be tremendously appreciated. Do I have to set the stove to high and drench the chicken in oil? I always read that the grill pan shouldn't be set to high, and as long as water drops evaporate instantly, it's ready to go.