How to cook chicken thighs/legs? Kinda urgent before they freeze

[whocanibe2day]

I've just received a gift of a bag of about 8 pieces of chicken. I live alone. I have never before in my life cooked thighs or legs. I've seen a lady marinade them before (in what I don't know) and then she was frying them in a pan.

Can anyone tell me what to do with this food? I love fried chicken, I've just never cooked it myself.
Sorry for AIBU but I literally have never cooked this before.

Should I separate them into portions now? Or cook them somehow and freeze in portions?

I marinade mine in brown sugar and mustard and roast in the oven. Or add to a casserole/slow cooker with tinned tomatoes or passata and onion/courgette/olives/peppers/mushrooms/garlic etc for a Mediterranean stew thing.

You can freeze them in uncooked portions, yes. I’ve got a stash in the freezer as I prefer them to breasts in stews etc.

I don't have most of those ingredients Professor.
I've soy sauce, a spice rack, I've tinned tomatoes. But believe me when I tell you that I cannot cook unless told to the letter what to do.

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/chicken-thigh
BBC Good Food has some great recipes.

Easy marinade: soy sauce, ginger, garlic, some honey (chillies optional). Then either grill, pan fry or oven cook. You can freeze once cooked.

Thighs are the best bit of the chicken.

Well there was the case of the chicken thigh casserole I made about 15 years ago which ended up a big lump of fat on the top of the dish and the whole thing had to be thrown out.

Might try portioning them.

Ha, sounds like me when I try a new recipe! I can’t replace a thing in case it goes horribly wrong
I would freeze them and decide what you’d like to make after browsing or people commenting on here with recipes.

If you search chicken thighs on the good food website there are literally hundreds if not thousands of recipes so there will be something for every taste.
This is my favourite recipe it is simpler than it looks and is delicious with the bonus of only using one dish.

Just seperate them into portions for now and freeze them.

I do them in the slow cooker, but you're can roast them. A slap of oil and shove in oven is probably the easiest way.

If you can't cook, what do you live on?

Do you have a jar of curry sauce? Just chuck them in a roasting tin for 20 minutes at 200degreesC. Reduce heat to 180 and chuck the curry sauce in. Cooke for another half an hour or so.

I'd keep a couple out and freeze the rest (in pairs).

For the drumsticks, I'd marinade them in lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and herbs of your choice, then grill them.

For thighs, I'd either do the same and then roast them along with a selection of vegetables, or I'd cut them up and fry them then use them in a risotto, or cheesy or tomatoes sauce with pasta.

So many options.

Have you got any spice mixes in your cupboard? Marinate them in Chinese 5 spice or maybe fajita spice? Then cook for 30-40mins in the oven. Or even bbq them. Freeze the rest for another day.

If you can't cook, what do you live on? Things I grew up on. Spuds, carrots, meat. Lol.

So you know how to cook meat?

How can you "not be able to cook"? If you are a functioning adult who can read without any problems just google some recipes. Food writers who, IMO, have clear instructions are Delia Smith, Jamie Oliver and Mary Berry. Or google any recipe aimed at students, or make a curry.

I stuck chicken thighs on a roasting tin with a tablespoon of oil, skin side up, with cut up potatoes, some garlic cloves, some onions quartered and a few chilis. Sprinkled with a little salt and pepper and sprinkled dried chilli flakes (or sage and thyme) roasted them for 40 mins turning the veg once.
Couldn't be easier. Probably 175 degrees.

Thanks, I've put them into 4 portions and will roast somehow whenever I need them. Talk about landing a girl in trouble! I was so grateful, I feel duty bound to produce something edible. My mother never cooked anything like this, so I literally have not learned how to cook them. I don't know!

fan oven

Bluemoooon I have everything you've listed, so will freeze them for now until I recover from the shock of feeling like a complete and utter idiot.

Chicken casserole/stew in slow cooker/oven:

Season chicken legs/thighs and fry long enough to brown the skin. Then remove.

Saute chopped onion (feel free to add chopped leeks/celery etc if you have them) on medium until translucent. Then add some garlic and teaspoon or so of fennel seeds and fry for another minute or two.

Get a jug of hot chicken stock - use a stock cube or one of those little jelly things, add a tablespoon of tomato paste, a teaspoon of honey, a cinnamon stick and a star anise. Also some white wine if you have it - a small glass is fine (it's even better if you do all this in the pan you've been using, letting the wine bubble for a few seconds first, but it's not essential).

Place onions and chicken into pot you'll cook them in. Pour over the stock/wine, enough to come high up the chicken but don't cover it you want the crispy skins on one side to be just poking out). Add, carrots, cut into squares/rounds.

Pop in slow cooker on low for 8-9 hours or on high for about 4-5. Add a tin of butter beans for the last half hour.

If cooking in the oven, I'd do it at something like 140fan/160 for 90 minutes then another 30-45 minutes with the beans in.

The sauce may be a bit thin. You can either put it on the stove after removing chicken and veg and boil it down. Or just stir in a spoonful of yoghurt. I've also been known to remove the chicken and most of the veggies and just aggressively stir enough that some of the beans land up being a bit mashed and act as a thickening agent.

For DH and DC I strip the chicken and put back into stew. This is particularly good for people who aren't wild about skin as even with the pre-frying, the understide that's been soaking might not stay crispy.

I learn by doing things, so I sometimes find it hard to follow recipes. Or even watching cookery shows on TV. I can't seem to learn without getting myself stuck in myself and making mistakes and learning.

Thank you BlingLoving. Very kind of you to post that.

It's ok now, I've portioned and frozen them all. Just wasn't sure whether or how to start cooking them straight away.

www.food.com/recipe/japanese-mums-chicken-68955

Equal quantities of olive oil, soy sauce and honey is a lovely marinade for chicken thighs