Leftover (cooked) bone in Greek Chicken Thighs and Legs

[Dax]

I would like to repurpose some or all of these leftovers (maybe +/- 30 legs and thighs together) from our rehearsal dinner. I portioned and froze the cooked parts the day after the wedding (they were refrigerated otherwise). They are about 2 months old so hopefully they do not have any/much freezer burn (ziplocked, not vacuum sealed).

I would rather *NOT* defrost and shred the meat and was looking for other recipes to use that would be a) something different (maybe), b) not involve cooking them into mush in which case I could have bone/shard issues and possibly c) maybe use for a super bowl or Lunar New Year party.

Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

[meatn3]

Dax - Congratulations and best wishes to you and your bride!

[Dax]

Thanks, we are excited.

[meatn3]

Not particularly novel but they should reheat without drying out if sauced. BBQ sauce would work nicely for super bowl and the Greek seasoning should be fine flavorwise.

[teezeetoo]

i would make the chicken marbella recipe without the chicken - heat the marinade thoroughly for maybe 30 minutes, add the room temperature chicken to the marinade and cook gently for maybe 10 minutes. serve room temperature I think.

[charles_sills]

greek chicken salad. pine nuts, grapes, a bit of dill, red bell peppers, and chunks of the chicken mixed with greek yoghurt. serve on pita?

[Tara57]

I would sacrifice a piece or two to science and experiment with recrisping them for a Super Bowl party. Maybe thaw, toss with a little Greek dressing, then broil or grill for a minute to crisp up the skin. I wouldn't worry about heating them all the way through. You can serve them room temperature.

[pagesinthesun]

I marked this discussion to check back this evening to see what other Hounds came up with. I was stumped by not defrosting and shredding. I did think of a soup, but you'd end up fishing the bones out anyway. I wonder if this would work for a chicken tetrizzini or cacciatore? I think my mom used to serve both of these dished with bone in chicken.

[Dax]

I have read the other threads about shredding the leftover chicken so I already knew of the standard re-purposing methods using shredded meat.

However, these were roasted with Greek herbs and/or marinade for the rehearsal dinner and I would rather use them whole.

I assume I could do some type of curry as most of the Indian places around here use whole legs and thighs for such (although probably from fresh), but I was looking to do something different.

They are Greek spiced but not overpowering (as much as I recall).

I assume if I tried to just convect bake or roast them in the oven to reheat, they will dry out in the 15 minutes or so at 450 it takes them to get sort of crispy? I could do them buffalo style but those would be big.

[goodhealthgourmet]

I assume if I tried to just convect bake or roast them in the oven to reheat, they will dry out in the 15 minutes or so at 450 it takes them to get sort of crispy?
~~~~~~~~
Submerge in tepid water in a *well sealed* plastic bag to bring them up to room temp. Then you can give them a quick run under the broiler to crisp the skin without drying them out.

[Dax]

I wish I had a sous vide machine (or a vacuum sealer) but this sounds like a good idea. The greek seasoning was fairly tame.

[goodhealthgourmet]

Just use heavy-duty zipper bags (2 if you want to be really cautious about it) and a large bowl. Set another bowl or dish on top of them to keep them submerged.

[charles_sills]

do a greek "chicken noodle" soup. orzo instead of noodles. chunks of chicken meat. use the bones to make the stock. maybe some sundried tomatoes, and plenty of lemon and parsley added at the end.

[mcf]

You haven't said what's Greek about them... herbs, marinade, yogurt, lemon? If they're very strongly flavored that might limit some choices.

[monavano]

Wraps
chicken pasta salad
I think shredding the legs will give you the most choices for repurposing.