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.

[Belledan1]

I take the skin off the thighs if doing a curry or casserole.

[Sceptre86]

Look up a few recipes on YouTube. You can pause whenever you need to and as they actually show you each stage it is much easier than following a written recipe in a book or online.

[UnderTheBus]

The easiest thing is just roast chicken - stricken them in a roasting dish at 180 for 25 minutes. Serve with veg.

Loads of different options like tray bakes, stews, marinades if you're feeling adventurous.

[ShinyMe]

I'm amazed that there are people who genuinely have no idea how to cook chicken thighs! It's not OP's fault if her mother "never cooked anything like this" but bloody hell! It's chicken legs, not quail's livers.

[Ginfordinner]

So am I ShinyMe. it isn't as if chicken thighs are a new exotic ingredient. The OP has been cooking for at leat 15 years, so it isn't as if she is a new student who doesn't know how to negotiate her way around a kitchen.

[bridgetreilly]

This: www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/roast_chicken_with_13305

[FraughtwithGin]

Coq au vin is brilliant with thighs on the bone and freezes well, too.

[OmgThereAreNoPlanesAboveMeNow]

I love cooking lamb. Enjoyed it since the first time. My mother never cooked lamb, nor have I even eaten it till I was 20...
You need to stop panicking. It's legs. It's like any other meat, logically, when it comes to "can it be frozen".

Also, there is just no "I cannot cook". It "I didn't want to learn to cook"...

Anyhoo. As pps said. These are very versatile. Roast them, stew them. Basically any spices will do. Italian spices with bit oil. Paprika, rosemary, thyme, salt pepper and chili with bit of oil. Curry mix. Shawarma spices mixed with bit of yogurt.

The saying shouldn't be the world is your oyster. It should be the world is your chicken thigh because there really are unlimited options of what to do

[greenlynx]

I usually mix a bit of mayonnaise with whatever spices I have (curry powder or paprika), rub legs/ drumsticks with the mixture and then put them into preheated oven 180 C for 45 - 50 minutes. You could freeze leftovers afterwards.

[Ginfordinner]

Also, there is just no "I cannot cook". It is "I didn't want to learn to cook"...

Or I don't like cooking and I can't be bothered to learn.

To be fair I could say the same about sewing. I can sew a button, sew a hem and make minor repairs, but I find sewing really boring, so instead of making clothes I buy them.

[Ninkanink]

When you’re ready to cook them, I’d suggest you look up chicken traybake recipes. They’re very easy and can be bunged into the oven with no hassle or complexity at all.

[OmgThereAreNoPlanesAboveMeNow]

@Ginfordinner ha! I am the same with sewing.
But not sewing doesn't have an effect on quality of one's life. Not cooking does imo

[AlCalavicci]

How many of you that said OP should know how to cook thighs / legs , its not hard . doesn't want to learn , drive a car and have had to take it to a garage to be fixed or have called out someone to fix something that you own in your home and have likely had that one or owned others ( ie washer ) .

If you have never been shown and are nervous about doing something of course it is best to ask , yes there are you tube videos out there for assorts but somethings having a friendly chat can be much more inspiring .

@whocanibe2day I tend to buy thighs more than any other cut because they are tastier imo and generally cheaper than breasts,
Do you have any lime pickle in ( the type that you get with Indian takeaways ) you can buy jars of it in any supermarket , my favourite brand one is Pataks but Tescos own is good too .
You need about half a teaspoon per thigh , chop it up a bit with scissors if it chunky ( pataks is ) and stuff a bit under the skin of each thigh cover loosely with foil and slow roast on gas mark 3 for about 1.5 hrs then uncover and turn the over up high to about 8 for 10 or 15 mins , or until the skin is nice and brown .
Serve with salad & jacket spud . .

[OmgThereAreNoPlanesAboveMeNow]

How can you liken repairing a car or a washer to cooking basics😂 Come on.
The sewing from pp was much more realistic.

[whocanibe2day]

It's not something that was ever cooked much in Ireland (that I've ever eaten) and my mother wasn't a fan of chicken after a salmonella scare in the 80's. I've never actually seen them cooked anywhere other than a chicken shop until I came to the UK where the landlady cooked fried chicken (this was what she marinated).
You can't instinctively know how to do something if you've never learned!
I think the easiest plan is to roast them.

[whocanibe2day]

Thanks for the tips btw. Unfortunately I'm unwell so can't get to the shops and my next delivery is in 11 days time
I'll probably roast and eat with side salad. Good to know I can freeze the leftovers.

[Longtalljosie]

Oh goodness some people are making this overly complicated.
When you want to eat then, get them out 24 hours beforehand and defrost them in the freezer. Then put them in a roasting tin or on a baking tray with salt, pepper and sunflower or olive oil. Cook at 190 for 35 minutes or 40 if they’re big ones.
Obviously marinates are lovely but they’re not necessary.

[Longtalljosie]

Oh God sorry - defrost them in the FRIDGE! And marinades not marinates. Must start previewing again

[Mypathtriedtokillme]

I like these:

www.recipetineats.com/vietnamese-coconut-caramel-chicken/

www.goodfood.com.au/recipes/everyday-teriyaki-chicken-20190521-h1emtl

[hula008]

You can freeze them raw and defrost before cooking.

Honestly they are so easy if you don't have much in the way of ingredients just salt, pepper, oil and roast them -they aren't gonna be the most flavorful but imo chicken thigh is the tastiest part of a chicken anyway.

Dependent on size they shouldn't take too long but you can cut them to check during cooking, no pink area should remain but sometimes dark meat can look a bit discoloured (hence the name)

[speakout]

OP I think your cooking confidence is the issue- not the chicken.

I agree with others- if you are a functioning adult then you should be able to cook.
And not being taught as a child doesn't matter.
I left home literally unable to boil an egg. My mother was a terrible cook, and I learned nothing.
But I enjoyed eating nice things and I was curious.
This was in the days long before the internet.
I bought myself a cookery book from a second hand shop- The Reader's Digest Cookery Year and worked my way through that. The book had a great section on techniques too- how to take meat out of a crab, how to chop, how to joint a chicken etc.
All the information is easy to find online- start with simple recipes.
As your confidence grows so will your success.

Within a coupe of years of practice I started to feel a competent cook. Now some decades on I consider myself a good cook, there is very little I wouldn't be able to do.

Start practicing- the risks are low.

BTW if you attempt to casserole the thighs, you may want to take the skin off first- it contains a lot of fat and will make your sauce or gravy quite greasy.

[hula008]

And yes you can absolutely fry them in a pan but I would suggest roasting as it's a lot more hands off.

If you aren't used to cooking I wouldn't suggest fried chicken (as in chicken shop chicken) it's a bit more advanced but still easy when you are used to cooking and you could definitely try once you are more confident.

[AnnaMagnani]

Portion them now and freeze. Then you have months to decide how you are going to cook them.

You can use them in basically any chicken casserole or stew, traybake or marinate them.

[Mypathtriedtokillme]

Defrost in the fridge. Put them in the fridge the night before you want to eat them.

Roast on a tray in a hot oven for 30-40 minutes then serve with salad or something.

[whocanibe2day]

In terms of what dinners were ever cooked as a child, it was either beef/lamb/pork/bacon (your gammon)/turkey and very rarely a full roast chicken (which I can do).
In terms of cuts of beef, my mum would use mince/chops/rarely steak/roast joint beef.
Lamb stew (aka Irish stew)/lamb chops/roast leg of lamb.
Pork chops
Bacon rashers (grilled) or a bacon joint (boiled)
Turkey (whole turkey roasted) for special occasions
Very very rarely, a whole roast chicken
Smoked Haddock on a Friday

One of my aunts is a fantastic cook and did many cookery classes over the years. Alas, I never spent time with her to learn her trade lol.

In the 80s recession, we got cheap burgers/frozen chicken kievs (very exotic), pastry pies. Then my mother discovered pizza lol. We never even had pasta. There was a year where there was a blight and we planted our own potatoes, which failed and the price of potatoes skyrocketed, so our American relatives (visiting), introduced my mother to rice. Can you imagine A dinner of a pork chop, mashed carrot, boiled rice and gravy? I was very thin that year lol.

TBH, though I studied home economics to Junior Cert (and got an A), I'm not too adventurous. I have dabbled with lasagne, curries etc. But I can be very hit and miss. In hindsight I'd have liked to have studied Home Ec until Leaving Cert, but was pressured into studying 3 sciences instead.