As summer comes to a close (at least in the Northern Hemisphere), picnics and bento boxes outside are a must! Chicken wings make great finger foods, but you can make them even easier to carry and cuter by turning them into chicken lollipops, which are also called cherrystone chicken or chicken cherries. Back in the day I used to hang around a chef (rather, he tolerated me while I pestered him with questions) who used to work in a hotel restaurant in the 80s, where he had to turn out hundreds of these little things for banquets. He could whip them out by the dozens in mere minutes, but I take a little longer. They are a bit fiddly, but not hard to do.
In the past few years, chicken lollipops have become a popular party snack or appetizer. What is a chicken lollipop, anyway? It’s hard to say no to them because of their fun, silly shape and tasty flavor.
A Brief History of Chicken Lollipops
Chicken lollipops originated in India and China. They were likely created as a creative way to eat chicken wings and drumettes By pushing the meat down to one end of the bone, they form a round “lollipop” shape. This allows you to eat them by holding the clean bone, keeping your hands sauce-free!
The appetizer has now become popular worldwide. You can find chicken lollipops on menus at restaurants and bars. Many people also make them at home for parties and game day snacks. While the origin is Asian, chicken lollipops can be flavored in many different ways nowadays.
What Makes a Chicken Lollipop?
A chicken lollipop is made up of several parts. The first part is a chicken wing or drumette. With a knife, the meat is cut and scraped down to one end of the bone, leaving the other end empty.
To make a lollipop:
- For a wing, remove the thin middle bone and push the meat down
- For a drumette, scrape meat off top of bone and push to bottom
- For a drumstick, scrape meat to bottom half of bone
At one end, you’ll have a round ball of chicken, and at the other, you’ll see a bone straight out. Season the meat and cook it by baking, frying, or grilling most of the time. The bone can be wrapped in foil to prevent burning.
Delicious Seasonings and Sauces
While the shape makes them fun, it’s the flavors that make chicken lollipops truly irresistible! The round meatball is perfect for absorbing spices, herbs, and sauces
Popular seasonings include:
- Chili powder, cumin, garlic, onion, paprika – for Southwest flavors
- Soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger – for Asian zing
- Lemon, oregano, garlic – for Mediterranean taste
- Jerk seasoning – for Caribbean spice
The sauces you pair with chicken lollipops are also important. Typical dipping sauces include:
- BBQ sauce – sweet, tangy, and sticky goodness
- Ranch dressing
- Honey mustard
- Sweet chili sauce
- Buffalo wing sauce – for heat!
Get creative with marinades, rubs, and glazes. The flavors will soak right in to give you maximum taste.
Cooking Methods for Chicken Lollipops
You can cook chicken lollipops several ways, but frying and baking are most common.
To fry: Dip lollipops in buttermilk or eggs, then coat with seasoned breadcrumbs or flour. Fry in oil for 2-3 minutes until golden brown and cooked through.
Put on a baking sheet and bake at 400°F for 20 to 25 minutes, or until fully cooked. Brush with sauce during the last 5 minutes to glaze.
Grilling and smoking chicken lollipops are also options if you want charred and smoky flavors. Adjust cooking times based on thickness of meat.
Serving Suggestions
Chicken lollipops make great appetizers for parties and game day snacks. They are handheld, easy to eat, and fun for dipping in various sauces.
You can garnish them with fresh herbs, sesame seeds, or green onions to add flavor and color. Serve alongside crunchy vegetables, blue cheese dip, or add them to a platter of wings and fingers.
For a full meal, chicken lollipops pair well with sides like mac and cheese, coleslaw, potato salad, or fries. They are a more unique alternative to wings or nuggets.
Kids love the playful shape and dipping opportunity. Just be sure to let the exposed bones cool before serving to little hands.
Why People Love Chicken Lollipops
There are several reasons chicken lollipops have become a go-to appetizer:
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Appearance – The lollipop shape makes them visually fun and unique.
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Flavor – Loads of seasoning options allow maximum taste.
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Mess-free – The exposed bone makes them easy to eat without sauce-covered hands.
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Customization – You can flavor them sweet, spicy, or savory.
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Portion control – Individual pops are great for parties and gatherings.
So bring some whimsy and flavor to your next gathering with chicken lollipops! Let your guests play with their food a bit with this novel appetizer.
How to cut up a chicken wing
First lets examine a chicken wing, as it usually comes from the supermarket.
You see that it has three sections. The tapering part is the wing tip, and doesnt have much edible meat on it, so I usually freeze it and use it for making chicken stock. The middle part has two bones in it; experienced chicken-wing-dissecters can remove the smaller second bone and make a lollipop out of the remainder, but thats rather fiddly to do, so I usually use the middle part for something else, such as buffalo chicken wings. The part that we want is the third, thickest part.
So lets cut apart the wing. We need a sharp, small knife. This is a boning knife with a tapered shape that comes in handy for many boning tasks. However, you could also use a straight blade knife. It just has to be sharp. A dull blade may slip, which is dangerous!.
Grab hold of the tapered wing tip and find the first joint. Cut through or to the side of the soft cartilage, rather than the bone. Your knife should go through easily.
Heres a closeup of that joint. As you see im cutting through the white cartilage. You might get little bits of loose cartilage here, which you should just cut off and discard.
Now cut through the second joint, in the same way, aiming for the cartilage again.
And here are the 3 wing pieces. As I mentioned above, I usually freeze the wing tips to to make chicken stock with (they are wonderfuly gelationous, so are perfect for this). The other two sections can be used in any recipe that calls for wings just as-is.
Incidentally, many butchers (or rather mechanical chicken cutters or whatever that do this for supermarkets) really do this sloppily leaving bits of cartilage hanging, not to mention bone splinters. If you can do this yourself the results will be a lot neater. 
CHICKEN LOLLIPOPS by GRILLIN WITH DAD
FAQ
What part of chicken is a lollipop?
A chicken lollipop is a chicken drumstick that has been Frenched; the meat is cut at the skinny end and pulled down to the other end to form a lollipop. Once you know how to cut them right, you can grill or bake them and serve them with any sauce you like.
What’s the point of chicken lollipops?
To make chicken lollipops, you push the meat to one end of the bone (frenching) and shape it into an appetizer that looks like a lollipop. The technique involves cutting around the narrow end of the drumstick and pushing the meat upward to form a ball at the top.
What’s the difference between a chicken leg piece and a chicken lollipop?
What is the difference between chicken lollipop and drumstick? Chicken lolipops are small, bite-sized pieces of chicken with a bone hold. They are typically made from chicken wings or drumettes, but this recipe calls for drumsticks, which are larger pieces of chicken.
Is chicken lollipop a Chinese dish?
What is Chicken Lollipop? Answer: Chicken Lollipop is a popular Indo-Chinese dish made with chicken drumsticks or wings that are marinated, deep-fried, and tossed in a tasty sauce.