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.

[Allergictoironing]

I too like my meat well cooked, but not burnt. I tend to do chicken thighs in the oven medium heat with water and a chicken stock in the tray, sprinkle with whatever seasoning comes to hand and cover with foil then cook for ages (about 45 mins). I then uncover for 10 mins or so until any remaining water cooks off. That way they are completely cooked through but still tender & moist.

I also do loads of stuff in the slow cooker, and the trick there is to cook it for about 3 times longer than you think. I love doing diced lamb or beef, again in a relevant stock (veg stock for lamb), and leave it in on low for at least 5-6 hours then add pearl barley. Back on for another hour. That's good for batch cooking as well, as you can freeze it after cooking with no problems and though it takes all day, it's minimal effort.

[onceuponatimeinsuburbia]

Look up Diana Henry. She's got a whole book of chicken recipes called A Bird in the Hand. She's a cook not a chef so all her dishes are relat

[onceuponatimeinsuburbia]

So all her dishes are relatable, straightforward and delicious not 'cheffy'

[whocanibe2day]

onceuponatimeinsuburbia Tbh as it's only myself I'm cooking for, apart from when my dd comes to visit, I don't really tend to venture outside what I know. I was just thrown by this 'exotic' ingredient lol. I don't want the generous gift to go to waste or to become a victim of my culinary disasters.

[Ginfordinner]

Chicken thighs are hardly exotic though. You must be able to cook if you have raised a daughter.

[OhioOhioOhio]

I'm sure they will be delicious op.

[whocanibe2day]

I can cook. Just not chicken thighs. As I said, the only time that I've seen them home cooked was by my landlady in London who marinated them overnight and fried them. So to me, it's 'exotic'. Inverted commas as I realise that it's not a remotely exotic cut of poultry.
Yes, I can cook. I'm actually good enough at cooking what I know.
If I gave you lamb cutlets and told you to cook an Irish stew, would you know how?

[whocanibe2day]

Could you cook an authentic Italian pasta dish? Could you cook a lamb bhuna or lamb madras?

[Ginfordinner]

Yes I would

[MitziK]

I vomited at the sight of the Fat berg lol, so Once the fat has solidified (next day) lift off with a spoon then Throw the fat away. wasn't an option

If looking at perfectly good food makes you vomit, that is concerning. Particularly with regard to wasting an entire chicken because the skin wasn't crispy - if you'd taken the skin off, you would have had perfectly moist, tender and juicy cooked chicken underneath.

If I gave you lamb cutlets and told you to cook an Irish stew, would you know how?

Yes. Although as cutlets are stupid expensive, I'd probably make something else with them and use something that cost less than £24 a kilo for a stew.


When you do (if you) cook the chicken thighs, it's likely that there will be some fat and jelly formed as the pan cools. To avoid you throwing up (why? It's natural) again, I'd suggest that you make sure all the cooked thighs are out of the pan and stood on a rack, rather than leaving them to cool in it. And wear rubber gloves to remove the fat/jelly (waste of perfect stock ingredients, but hey) into a container to put into the bin like an empty can, because it can't go down the sink.

Another thing you could do when they are defrosted is remove the skin and cut the bone out, then use the meat in a pan fried dish - if you're not into spices, salt and pepper would do.

[Ginfordinner]

Yes to the Indian dishes as well. We eat a lot of Indian food. I have even been on an Indian cookery course.

I live food. It interests me, and I like eating

[Ginfordinner]

love food

[Crystal87]

Put them in the oven. Add oil and salt if you want. Chicken thighs are good for lots of meals. We eat them as part of a roast dinner, a chicken salad, or pour a ready made jar of curry sauce over them. Get a food probe if you're worried about them not being cooked.

[whocanibe2day]

Well Ginfordinner, given your username, I wouldn't have put you down as a master chef. Can you understand that some of us have not grown up multiculturally? Bully for you that you can cook all sorts. I can't. No probs.

[whocanibe2day]

Oh and give me your method and ingredients for Irish stew @Ginfordinner

I'll test ya.

[whocanibe2day]

Yes, I know lamb is expensive but my parents and the neighbours each bought a deep freezer (both farmers). They sent a lamb to the butchers (shared cost and divided it equally between us which was then put into the deep freeze), a pig to the butchers and a cow to the butchers depending on the year. Everything was divided and cost shared (hard to store a full cow in a freezer haha)
We were reared on lots of meat.

[whocanibe2day]

If looking at perfectly good food makes you vomit, that is concerning.
If looking at an inch of solidified fat with an odd carrot slice sticking out gives you an appetite, then THAT is concerning.

[whocanibe2day]

Yes, lamb is stupidly expensive unless you send your own to the butchers to be cut into whatever they cut it into (bawk). I actually did cook an Irish stew once for a guy I was dating from SA and he loved it, so I can't be that bad. I rarely cook it now as no-one but myself to cook for, but used to cook it for dd. Very tender.
I was once out shopping and hadn't eaten all day. As they say, never shop while you're hungry lol, but I bought myself a whole T-bone steak, beans and mushrooms and ate the lot. My DM came in mid eating to take dd for an overnight and was like 'well YOU'RE looking after yourself' haha! (DD was not really on solid food properly - she was still under 1 I think). I think my blood sugars dropped as they can tend to do so that I feel 'weak with the hunger'. I can't count the amount of times they've given me those gloopy sugary yokes that they squeeze down your throat to get your blood sugar levels up. In ambulances, in hospital. I need calories, but am not diabetic. I wouldn't survive long on hunger strike lol.

[ImFree2doasiwant]

Seperate and freeze.

Really easy nigella recipe.

Add olive oil to roasting dish, rub chicken skin in it to coat. Into the dish put your chicken, sone halved new potatos (raw) and some large chunks of chorizo, chunks of red onion. Sprinkle with oregano and zest of 1 orange. Roast, you may need to turn the spuds and chorizo halfway. Serve with salad. Yum.

[CorianderLord]

Cut the bones out and cover them in jerk powder and bbq sauce - yum serve with rice.

Or, cover in Nando's sauce and roast.

Marinate in yoghurt and herbs and pan fry, serve with pitta and salad.

They're just like chicken breasts really except they stay a little pink inside when cooked.

40 mins at 200C in the oven or 5-7 minutes in a pan

[CorianderLord]

To get fried chicken dip them in egg and then in corn flour mixed with spices, repeat, allow to sit for 1 minute and then drop into a saucepan 1/3 filled with hot oil. Cook until crispy

[CorianderLord]

Just realised this was two days ago

[Somethingkindaoooo]

You can chop the thighs into thumb sized pieces.
Put in tray with veg in equally sized ( thumb sized) veg: yellow and red peppers, purple onion, courgette, seeded tomatoes. Chuck in a tin of drained butter beans. If you like olives , you can put a handful of black ( pitted) olives in.
For flavour you can use some pepper, and a good sprinkling of smoked paprika. Or, buy some sliced choritzo ,chop some slices ( or lots if you like it) into smaller bits, and add to the tray. Or you can crumble half a pack of feta cheese in.

Bake gas mark 5 for 40 mins
Yum

[FindMeInTheSunshine]

My favourite chicken thigh recipe is this one pot one:

Spanish chicken

It's incredibly easy, and barely any work involved. I usually add a yellow or red pepper chopped into big pieces at the beginning as well. You can use drumsticks/legs instead of thighs. That recipe is for 4 people, so you'd need to reduce the quantity but I've found it re-heats ok in a microwave, or probably just in a saucepan on the hob - although I'd add a bit of water then, just so it didn't dry out.

[terrelontane]

I would defrost, cut into pieces, marinate them in olive oil, garlic and lemon juice, stick on skewers and grill, then maybe eat with some mint/feta/red onion couscous or similar.