chicken thighs -- what to do with them?

Cafe Society
41

This works best for boned, skin- on thighs, and is based on a Nigel Slater recipe.

Heat some butter and olive oil in a griddle (I have a cast iron ridged second hand Le Creuset I got on eBay for next to nothing which is, IMHO, perfect for this).

Season your chicken well.

Fry chicken skin side down until golden.

Throw some torn up tarragon on the chicken, flip.

Continue cooking until chicken is cooked through, brownish and a little crunchy at the edges.

Put the chicken on warmed plates.

De-glaze the pan with some liquid (I like Pernod- you could go for white wine, vermouth, sherry, stock or water- depending on personal taste and what is in your pantry).

Add some more shredded Tarragon, more seasoning and bit of something creamy (creme fraiche, cream, yoghurt, mascarpone, whatever).

Stir until you have a sauce.

Pour sauce over chicken.

Serve with french green beans and boiled potatoes or a nice bread.

Less than 20 minutes, and really, really good.

Also works well with rosemary or thyme instead of tarragon but if I’m using those I won’t go for Pernod, obviously.

42

enough oil to lightly coat the chicken,
salt/pepper/whatever spices you like
mix spices into oil (olive/canola/whatever kind you cook with) {Bacon grease works well if you want to die young}
coat chicken with spices and oil.
put in your smoker on low for 1.5 hours or so then turn up the heat a bit to get the chicken up to temp.

put in your face. I make sandwiches with this or add the chicken chopped to other dishes like chili or breakfast.

43

I ended up making a variation on janis_and_c0’s curry using the veggies I had on hand. In this case carrots and cauliflower. It was mighty tasty. I was going to do the paprikash since I did have sour cream, but found that I only had smoked paprika which I think would be a little overpowering.

Thanks for all the ideas! I will definitely refer to this thread in the future.

44

fishnet stockings and black stiletto heels…

That makes ANY thighs look great!
~VOW

45

I just made this recipe tonight and served it with spatzle and I have to confess, it was a little bit bland to me. Not sure how 5 chicken thighs, 2 onions, 2 tablespoons of paprika and sour cream could be bland, but it was. Wonder what I’m missing or if my taste buds are just blasted.

Any ideas? Maybe the leftovers will be better tomorrow.

ETA: Just to head it off at the pass, I used brand new imported sweet Hungarian paprika. It wasn’t stale cheap sawdust.

46

To be honest, I haven’t made this exact recipe. But when I glanced at it, the ingredients seemed right.
I’ll run it by my Hungarian mom for an expert opinion. :slight_smile:

47

What brand of paprika did you use? How did you incorporate it into the dish? That will make or break your recipe. At the very least, use Pride of Szeged brand Hungarian paprika, which is, at least around here, the most popular Hungarian brand. Add it to the fried onions and oil at the beginning of the recipe and cook it for a minute before adding in your (pre-browned or not) chicken pieces. Paprika’s flavor compounds are released mostly in oil, so this step is key. Also, the type of sour cream can matter. I prefer to use Mexican crema these days for this recipe, but I have no problem with Dean’s or whatnot. Some people like to do half sour cream, half heavy cream. Did you adjust for salt and pepper?

Here’s my recipe with photos and a whole slew of cooking tips and variations on the basic paprikash recipe. It is not supposed to be something that is hit-you-over-the-head-with-flavor, but it should be plenty oniony, savory, and paprika-y. It is a perfect dish for Midwestern meat-and-potato palates, while being slightly exotic and interesting for folks who are more adventurous. I use exclusively sweet paprika in mine, and go about 2:1 by weight of chicken : onions. I do not use stock in mine, just add enough water (maybe 1/2 cup) to keep things from burning in the beginning. The meat and onions will release more than enough liquid on their own.

Anyhow, just click the link and you’ll get all the info you need.

48

Oh, goddamit. Someone had to do it.

Put it between your knees.

ETA more seriously, I usually just add them to whatever else I’m cooking. I like “marinating” in a yogurt base, though. Though I usually either, drunkenly, roast them until done and eat them like a savage, or just add them to whatever pot I have simmering on the stove after browning and cooking them.

You could [ding!] make giant Buffalo Wings out of them, though. Never tried that.

Ask me about Turkey Thighs, though – shame I can’t find them here, but those roast Beautifully, au naturel.

49

I pretty much followed the recipe linked verbatim and I felt pretty good about the accuracy. The appearance was pretty much spot on when it was finished. I used the Szeged brand paprika that you mentioned and I added it to the caramelized onions with salt, pepper and stock before adding the chicken, I stirred it into the fat/onion mixture.

I cooked it for about 40 minutes or so as opposed to the 60-90 you recommended but that would presumably impact the chicken’s texture more than the flavor of the sauce. I also used the above recipe’s 1/2 cup of sour cream as opposed to the cup you suggest.

I’m guessing that I just expected more intense flavor than it’s probably made for. I was imagining chili, but Hungarian. Maybe some extra salt and a bit more paprika could bring those leftovers into line.

I was in Prague a few years back and ordered one of the best things I’ve ever tasted. Can’t remember what it was called but it was some pork or beef stew that was paprika based. Maybe it was just Czech goulash. I was hoping this would be in the ballpark.

50

I have two go-to options.

First, crock pot them with a head’s worth of peeled garlic cloves, carrots, and thyme.

Second, crock pot them with Moroccan preserved lemons and olives.

If I had more energy I’d make a paste of garlic, lemon juice, cumin, turmeric and chili powder, slather them in it, and roast them with root vegetables. Serve over couscous.

51

Chicken & rice is the easiest thing ever.

Toss thighs in a pot of seasoned water until they fall off the bone. Drain stock and save it to put it back in the pot. Throw in some rice into the stock. While the rice is cooking, separate the skin and bones from the chicken meat and toss the meat back into the pot with the rice. Cook until done. Season to taste. I like salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder if I don’t use Morton’s Nature Seasoning (which I put on damn near everything). I usually just add some butter to it, but you can also mix in cream of pretty much anything soup. My son is fond of the broccoli and cheese soup in his chicken and rice. I add in some additional broccoli and pour it in a baking dish, top with cheese and put until the broiler until the cheese is bubbly. Yum. I also like it with dried onion/mushroom soup mix added while the rice is cooking.

Add egg noodles instead of rice. Or make dumplings. Those are super easy to make from scratch. I can send you my Mom’s dumpling recipe if you need one.

I give the bones and skin to the dog.

52

I love your recipe. I’d like to eat your skin.

53

It does sound to me like you were expecting more, or simply didn’t add enough salt. As I mention in my recipe, this is a dish that really lets the simplicity of ingredients shine through.

The pork or beef stew you’re talking about sounds like it could be Hungarian goulash. Recipe is here. Once again, it’s a very straightforward affair. I think it’s delicious and it’s always a hit at potlucks (as is the paprikash with the homemade noodles), but YMMV.