Kedjenou — Sealed-Pot Chicken Drumsticks with Tomatoes & Bell Pepper

Ingredients

• 1½ lb Chicken Drumsticks, in bone-in pieces
• 3 Tomatoes, quartered
• 1 Bell Pepper, cut in wide strips
• 2 onions, in thick wedges
• 3 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 Scotch bonnet, whole
• 1 tsp thyme leaves
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 bouillon cube, crushed
• 1 tbsp neutral oil
• 1½ tsp salt

Method

1. Heat the oven to 325°F (165°C). Toss the Chicken Drumsticks, Tomatoes, Bell Pepper, onions, garlic, thyme, bay, bouillon, oil, and salt together in a heavy pot until everything is glossy. Tuck the Scotch bonnet in whole and unbroken.
2. Seal the pot: lid on, and if the fit is loose, lay a sheet of parchment under it. Not a drop of water goes in — the vegetables release everything the dish needs.
3. Bake 60–70 minutes. Twice during cooking, grip the lid and shake the whole pot hard side to side instead of stirring. This is traditional, satisfying, and keeps the lid on.
4. Uncover only at the end: the Chicken Drumsticks should pull from the bone at 175°F (79°C) and sit in a rust-colored broth. Fish out the chili unless someone at the table wants to mash it in.
5. Serve over attiéké or rice with the pot juices spooned generously over everything.