4 nice chicken thighs

[JackieChiles]

I’m running out of ideas! I’m really scraping the barrel on the old budget, so chicken always seems to be the best buy.

This is what I’ve done in the few recent weeks:

-Baked, fried & BBQ chicken
-Teriyaki chicken
-Stir-fry chicken
-Chicken adobo
-Pancit w/chicken
-Chicken tacos, burritos & enchiladas
-Chicken noodle soup & chicken saimin
-Chicken and mushroom sauce
-Chicken sandwiches, both hot and cold
-And probably others I can’t remember

It would be great to get some alternative recommendations and some new recipes for my repertoire from those more imaginative than me. I’m by myself, and shop at a farmers market, so my produce is generally great.

I have a lot of spices, and other pantry items, so I can probably do most anything unless the ingredients are really exotic. Mostly I try to cook simple things, but am certainly up for a challenge too.

I’ve Googled to death, so it would be great to get your input.

Thanks!

[fara]

chicken thighs with bone and skin baked with lemon and potatoes.
-chop large quantity of garlic finely.
-fill glass baking dish with chicken thighs and cubed unpeeled white potatoes so that it forms more or less one layer
-add garlic, lots of oregano, juice of 2 lemons per 6 thighs. cut up lemon pieces and add to mixture.
-add enough olive oil to moisten
-season with salt, and turn the thighs and potatoes in the mixture
-bake on 375/400 for 1hr.

[chef chicklet]

You've received a lot of good suggestions as well as your own ideas.
I like to make chicken chowmein when I'm stretching the goods. I use vermecelli and lots of veggies, and I always have a ton of leftovers!

Another is to roast the chicken and use it along with nice fresh veggies for Vietnamese summer rolls using the fresh rice noodle wrappers. YUM!

[JackieChiles]

I agree and am grateful for the suggestions. This will be my go to thread for chicken in the next month or so because I know chicken will be used again- and probably fairly soon. I've got to shop for some of the ingredients mentioned here but I'm excited to use a lot of these recipes/ideas.

Anyway, I took pieces of a few people's suggestions (based on what I had on hand the other day) and did a simple marinade of soy, sugar, water, ginger, garlic, red pepper flakes, & green onions. Pretty much like a Kalbi marinade. Then I grilled it on a grill pan to get some nice marks, and popped it into the oven to finish. I served it over jasmine rice. A stir-fry of cabbage, carrots, celery, squash (spicy with jalapenos & some sriracha) was my small side, plus I had Datu Puti vinegar pickled cucumbers with red onion. I had enough for one left over plate lunch.

Thanks again to everyone and feel free to add more!

[chef chicklet]

Goodness! That sounds pretty similar to what I made the other day ( see the bottled lemon juice thread) I'm telling you there is nothing tastier than chicken grilled this way. I just love you cabbage idea, I have both purple and white, and I think I'll take your idea for a salad to go with grilled salmon. Thanks!

[Meann]

Try a heaping tablespoon of peanut butter (or cashew butter if the budget will stretch) mixed with half a clove of garlic, mashed. Mix in your baking dish, and roll the four thighs around in it and bake. You'll end up with a layer of oil that you can either stir in or pour off as desired.

[ldkelley]

We eat a lot of chicken thighs in arroz con pollo or different kinds of curry. I am thinking I am going to break out the old fondue pot and do a chicken only night with different sauces on a weekend.

[JackieChiles]

I've been wanting to try this since I saw the "Throwdown" on Food Network. It looks so good. I have a little trepidation as I noticed Bobby Flay had such a hard time with the rice? The challenger was a complete master. Do you have a special recipe?

[hungry_pangolin]

You know, I think that the thigh is the tastiest bit of the chicken. Anyway, here's one of my favourites.

1) In a skillet, toast peppercorns, cumin seeds, coriander seeds for a minute or two, then grind them. (I use a 2:1:4 ratio, ot there abouts)
2) Add the ground spices to a food processor with garlic (a small clove per piece of chicken), sliced ginger root, cayenne, lemon or lime juice, a bit of vegetable oil and water to thin out slightly, and puree.
3) In a bowl, add the puree, some chopped coriander leaf, and skinned chicken thighs or drumsticks (leave the bones in). Coat chicken evenly, and marinate in the fridge for 4 to 6 hours.
4) Grill on the barbeque, 10-15 minutes per side. Serve with thinly sliced red onion and lime wedges. If you don't have a barbeque, do it in the oven at 400F for about 35-40 minutes.

Here's a sauce:
In a food processor, puree:
1 cup coriander leaf
1/2 cup walnuts
1 jalapeno
3 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 cup walnuts
1/3 cup lemon juice
salt

You can loosen with a bit of water, and serve, or, add to yoghurt (about a cup). If you don't want it really hot, you'll definitely want to use yoghurt. Personally, while I like the heat, I prefer mixing in at least some yoghurt.

[bebevonbernstein]

I've always wanted to try this recipe, from Mark Bittman: Chicken Thies Stuffed with Chard

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage...

[applehome]

Katsu kare with chicken katsu.

Debone thighs, pound flat, bread with panko (flour/egg/panko) and deep fat fry.

Cook rice (short grain Koshihikari or medium grain cal-rose are best for Japanese food)

Make Japanese veggie kare (curry). (requires one or more bricks of S&B or Vermont House curry roux bars, available at most Asian food stores, also requires chicken stock, frozen peas - fresh are better, but put them in earlier, mirapoix - extra carrots and onions)

Fine dice mirapoix (carrots, celery, onions)
Clean & dice potatoes (waxy is better) in 3/4" cubes
Peel and cut more carrots, this time into 1/4" round slices
Sweat mirapoix in oo in a medium/large pot
Add potatoes and large carrots
Add chicken stock to cover - boil then simmer until potatoes and carrots
are almost done
Add frozen peas
Add squares of roux bars - one piece at a time, make sure they completely
dissolve, and check thickness of sauce before adding more
Add s&p and/or shoyu to taste

Slice chicken cutlets into 1/2" strips

Serve on flat plate - mound of rice, chicken cutlet strips on side, kare sauce to cover rice and some of the meat.

Provide tsukemono and sides to go with dish (available at Japanese foods stores):
Rakkyo - sweet pickled small onions
Beni-shoga - red shisho pickled ginger
Takuwan - yellow pickled radish
Fukujinzuke - mixed pickled vegetables

Use a fork!

[JackieChiles]

Never thought of Katsu and I don't know why! I love it. Thanks for the idea. It's on the list to make! Also, I always generally have something pickled with any dish I eat. I usually do my own pickling, although I have not made Takuwan, and now I have a craving for that.

[hannaone]

Marinate in milk or buttermilk overnight. Simple S&P, then bake. Shred baked chicken and season with some oregano, garlic, onion, red or green crushed chili pepper, black pepper, and just enough water to be able to mix everything together (sub broth instead of water). Heat over low/medium heat just a few minutes to get rid of excess moisture & meld flavors. Now you can add to veggies for salad or add some diced tomato, onion, and lettuce shreds, then roll in a hot corn or flour tortilla.

[coney with everything]

If you like Indian flavors, consider a "tandoori" type preparation. I marinate thighs overnight in yogurt seasoned with a commercial tandoori spice mix. Then either broil or barbecue them.

[classylady]

hi coney with everything what type of spices is in commercial tandoori mix

[bards4]

You could brine them for a couple of hours in a salt/sugar water mix and then make a spice rub with your wonderful collection of spices -- I like brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, cumin and smoked paprika. Then grill them. Really juicy, really tasty.

[janeh]

Two favorite standbys are Demon Drumsticks and Spicy Hoisin Chicken, both from epicurious.com. Have made both as directed and with boneless chicken thighs - terrific no matter what. With the demon drumsticks I've used all kinds of bread crumbs, panko, whatever's on hand. Enjoy!

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/DEMON-DRUMSTICKS-104097
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/foo...

[JackieChiles]

I love hoisin! Will try this, thanks for both recipes!

[JackieChiles]

I've done both of the above, with slight variations. You both are right, both simple and good. Thanks!

[hill food]

what makes a good size meal is to saute some hot pepper, garlic and onion (fresh ginger never hurts) in a few drops sesame oil and more olive oil and fish sauce (just a splash) in that add either minced chicken thigh or ground chicken or even pork (sometimes I use a big sauce pan rather than a saute pan for easier mixing). strain and reserve. if you're ambidextrous you may have already boiled rice noodles - don't let them sit long after draining. stir them into the oil and liquid in the pan, saute and try to give them a good caramelizing. toss with LOTS of fresh basil, lime juice and maybe more chili-garlic to taste.

getting the noodles to that perfect coated, but not too slick is the key.

would anybody in SE Asia like it? prob. not. but I do and it's cheap.

[50sGuy]

A really simple--but good--preparation of boneless skinless chicken thighs is to marinate them in teriyaki sauce for several hours, then fry them in canola oil for a few minutes. Great right away, or as a sandwich stuffing the next day.

[jayt90]

Similar to my Japanese roommate's method: 1 cup oil in a frypan, as it heats up add .5cup Kikkoman soy sauce (no other brand would do!) and .25 cup sugar. He stirred and moved the chicken parts with chopsticks, for about 12 minutes, and served over Carolina long grain rice. Delicious with those Perdue chickens we could buy for a dollar, and dismember!

[purple goddess]

ease the skin away from the flesh with the back of a teaspoon, or your finger, making a pocket. Stuff said pocket with:

Cheese and ham
Spinach.
Spinach and canned smoked oysters.
Tomato pesto and sliced olives.
Fresh diced tomato and basil.
pancetta.
Fresh herbs in mayonaisse

Pretty much any combo of the above and the bake/BBQ/fry until done.

[JackieChiles]

I'm skinless on these, but this sounds great. Will try next time. Thanks!

[chowser]

Chicken thighs work great in coq au vin and chicken paprika. Any kind of stew works well that you braise. Oven fried chicken is an easy favorie--doctor it up w/ different types of herbs and crumbs. You can always do a roulette by deboning and fill w/ whatever you have handy, pesto; ham and cheese, stuffing; pan fry and bake.

[JackieChiles]

I love the idea of a fill of "w/whatever/." That's the kind of guy I am, Thanks. Will take the idea and run!

[othervoice]

I also wanted to add. I know how you feel about the budget crunching. This is a really inexpensive meal and can feed alot. I've been racking my brain trying to come up with meals to feed 6 that don't empty the wallet at the same time.

[othervoice]

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Oriental...

Try this one for a warm summer evening it's great. Even though the recipe calls for breast, I use whatever I have. I also add some chopped cabbage and cilantro. Delicious!!

[JackieChiles]

Very cool salad recipe. It looks good. Thanks!

[Val]

How about 5 ingredient chicken...dijon mustard, curry powder, dried sage and maple syrup...you combine those, pour over chicken thighs, (you'll need to baste every 15 mins), bake for 40 minutes, uncovered...really awesome! Will give you exact measurements if you think you're interested.

[JackieChiles]

Interesting. That is a combo of marinade I have not had. Sound good! Absolutely, post the recipe if you don't mind. What do you serve the chicken with, or over? Thanks.

[food_eater79]

Is that a marinade and also a baste? To marinate in that overnight sounds delicious. I think I'll do it tonight. At what temp do you bake your thighs? I always do mine at 350 for an hour.

[Val]

Here's the deal...the recipe does not call for any marinating..just roasting with the sauce:

1/4 cup Dijon mustard, thinned with 3 Tablespoons water
2/3 cup maple syrup (I use Grade B)
2 teaspoons rubbed sage or ground sage
2 teaspoons curry powder
6 chicken thighs (bone-in works best, in my opinion, and I always always remove the skin and fat)

In a small saucepan, add all ingredients except chicken. Stir til sage and curry powder are well-blended. Place chicken thighs in a casserole or baking dish that crowds the chicken a little. (My ideal vessel is my Corningware 8x8x2 inch ceramic dish...and I do line it with foil due to the sugar content from the maple syrup...works beautifully everytime!) Pour the mustard sauce over the chicken pieces and turn them to coat...place in oven preheated to 425 degrees. Bake for about 45 to 50 minutes, uncovered, and BASTING every 15 minutes. Delicious over basmati rice...if the sauce separates, just discard any fat and then just use the sauce for the chicken and rice. **Note: I have never marinated this in the sauce...but why not? You could certainly do that and then just use the sauce in the oven since it cooks, it will be safe.** We love this enough to NOT make it too often lest we tire of it--very unlikely "cast of characters" but they do work together in a most yummy way!

[food_eater79]

Cool, I'll try that tomorrow then for lunch or dinner. I have all the ingredients. I'm just finishing off some leftover meatloaf today and went shopping earlier for the week.

It's amazing how you go to get a couple things and end up spending $80 at the store...

[JackieChiles]

Sounds great. Great recipe and thanks for the input and instructions. I will also try it soon.

[torty]

Other than marinated and slowly grilled (off to side to cook thru and then crisped up over direct heat), my favorite use of the thighs (skinned- use skin to make make crunchies if you like) is in a crockpot. Bottom layer is a sliced onion, then chicken thigh salted and completely coated with good paprika, then layer of onion. Repeat as needed for quantity you have. Cook till you have a gooey paprika/onion sauce with melting tender thigh. Serve over egg noodles, rice, polenta....

[JackieChiles]

Yeah, I like it best that way too. I've done that recently however. It seems I'm flustered with chicken! I've done it over noodles and rice. Tasty, no doubt. Thanks for the response!

[drewb123]

torty- how many hours would you say? and on low or high?