Chicken Drumsticks
Chicken in the Midwest · up 26% this week
Per a typical 100g serving, scaled from the per-100g figures in USDA FoodData Central (Chicken, broilers or fryers, dark meat, drumstick, meat only, raw).
- 1 SoutheastCheapest $0.91/lb
- 2 Northwest $0.99/lb
- 3 Southwest $1.01/lb
- 4 Southcentral $1.06/lb
- 5 Northeast $1.15/lb
- 6 Midwest $1.46/lb
Buying chicken drumsticks in the Southeast saves about 38% versus the Midwest this week.
- How to pick a good one
- Look for intact skin and a plump, rounded shape. Drumsticks are usually among the cheapest chicken parts sold, so the main things to check are freshness and how much liquid has collected in the tray.
- What a good price looks like
- Among the cheapest meat available anywhere in the shop: 99 cents to $2 a pound, and frequently under a dollar on ad. Under $1.25 is a good price. Even after the bone loss, drumsticks deliver protein at a lower cost than almost anything else in the meat case.
- What you actually get
- The bone is roughly 30% of the weight, so a pound gives about 10 oz of raw meat and 7 to 8 oz cooked. Budget two to three drumsticks per adult. The bones make excellent stock and there are a lot of them.
- How to store it
- One to two days refrigerated, up to nine months frozen.
- In the kitchen
- Cheap, hard to ruin, and better cooked longer than you would think — like thighs, they want 80°C or above so the connective tissue breaks down. High dry heat gives the best skin: 220°C on a rack so air gets underneath. They are dark meat on a single bone, so they are done when the meat pulls back from the knuckle.
- Getting the most out of it
- Dark meat on a bone, which means they are hard to dry out and very cheap per pound. They benefit from higher heat than most chicken — roast or grill them hot so the skin crisps before the meat overcooks. Excellent for feeding a crowd on a tight budget.
- Slow Cooker Lemon Feta DrumsticksRecipe by Skinnytaste~$1.06 / serving 1 in-season
- Sheet Pan Chicken Drumsticks with Zucchini and CornRecipe by Skinnytaste~$2.10 / serving 5 in-season
- 5 Ingredient Sticky Stove Top Balsamic DrumsticksRecipe by RecipeTin Eats~$2.55 / serving 1 in-season
- Oven Baked Chicken DrumsticksRecipe by Budget Bytes~$0.84 / serving 0 in-season
- Filipino Fried ChickenRecipe by Pinch of Yum~$0.87 / serving 2 in-season
- BBQ ChickenRecipe by Skinnytaste~$0.93 / serving 0 in-season
See all 53 recipes with chicken drumsticks →Filter by diet, time, budget, and macros.
Price from the USDA weekly retail meat report (conventional, per lb). Nutrition per typical serving, computed from USDA FoodData Central.
Chicken Drumsticks — FAQ
What's the price of chicken drumsticks this week?
As of the week of October 2, 2026, the price of chicken drumsticks in the Midwest is $1.46/lb, up 26% from last week. Prices come from the USDA's weekly retail meat report.
Which region has the cheapest chicken drumsticks right now?
The Southeast has the cheapest chicken drumsticks this week at $0.91/lb — about 38% less than the Midwest, where it runs $1.46/lb.
How much protein is in chicken drumsticks?
A typical 100g serving of chicken drumsticks has about 19.4g protein and 116 calories (3.7g fat), per USDA FoodData Central.
What can I cook with chicken drumsticks?
SeasonSort indexes 53 recipes using chicken drumsticks, each priced per serving from this week's data — starting from about $0.21 a serving. The cheapest are listed on this page, with a link to the full filtered list.