Place the drumsticks, whey (or buttermilk) and salt in a non-reactive container with fitting lid or re-sealable plastic bag and place in the refrigerator to brine for 24 to 48 hours.
Remove the drumsticks from the brine, rinse and pat them real dry.
Preheat your oven to 375F and prepare your dipping stations.
For the first one, mix tapioca starch, dried oregano, black pepper, paprika, salt, garlic and onion powder, and ground chipotle pepper (use cayenne if you don’t have chipotle) and mix well with a flat whisk until well combined. Transfer to a large re-sealable bag and set aside.
For the second dipping station, whisk together the egg and Frank’s Red Hot until combined and slightly frothy.
Finally, for the third station, add the crispy lardons and sliced almonds to a small food processor and process on pulse until the mixture resembles wet coarse sand.
Transfer to a shallow bowl. If you find the mixture to be too sticky and wet, delicately mix in a few tablespoons of tapioca starch with your fingers.
Place the drumsticks in the bag containing the tapioca starch mixture and move them around until they are completely coated. One by one, remove the drumsticks from the bag, taking care to shake off the excess flour, and dip in the Franks Red Hot until completely covered.
Place that drumstick in the bowl that contains the almond coating and cover it by lightly pressing the mixture against the drumstick with your fingers.
Place the breaded drumstick in a broiler pan and repeat with the remaining pieces of chicken.
Bake in a 375F oven for 40 to 45 minutes or until crispy and golden brown.
Notes
Unfortunately, I was unable to find the nutritional information for the crispy lardons, so I couldn't calculate the total nutritional information for this recipe.