Marinades for chicken

[JenaiMarrHePlaysGuitar]

I love chicken thighs. I've just realised that it's extraordinarily easy to bone them yourself, which means I no longer have to make the compromise between thigh fillets -which are always skinless (the skin is delicious!) - or whole ones which sometimes take too long to cook and are a faff to eat

I often use a marinade of sweet and hot smoked paprika, garlic, lemon juice and cumin (and whatnot) from Moro East (utterly delicious if you roast potatoes in the same pan), and the other day I did this one from the Times, which is basically chilli, thyme and lemon juice. For the Times one, I didn?t bother adding water to the pan, and rather than add the mint to the chicken I mixed it (with a touch of garlic) in with some yoghurt to make a dressing.

I could do with some more ideas though...

Please share :)

[prolificwillybreeder]

jenai oh yes and they are pretty much store cupboard ingredients in our house. I don't marinade it for as long as she says, maybe an hour max. I then just tip the rest of the marinade on and bung in oven. It days drumsticks but I use thigh too and tastes great.
This blog has the actual recipe if you don't have the book/ find it online.
African Chicken

[Xiaoxiong]

prolificwilly (I've always wanted to type that)...it tastes lovely, very tangy from the lime and juicy from the tequila. Hard to describe beyond that, you'll have to make it and see!

The taste of the tequila kind of cooks off - think about using wine in a marinade, it does lovely things to tenderise the meat but you don't get a big hit of wine when you eat the food after it's cooked.

If you do make it, you can do a number of things with it but it works best with Mexican style things:

• slice grilled chicken into strips or chunks and serve on a bed of shredded lettuce, diced onions and tomatoes, and top with a dollop of guacamole, sour cream and some grated cheese (and salsa if you've got some)
  
• do the above but roll into tortillas or scoop into taco shells
  
• serve on a bed of rice mixed with fresh coriander, serve pico de gallo on the side

[JenaiMarrHePlaysGuitar]

You need a sharp knife, bibs.

You lay it skin-side down and kind of detach the bone from the flesh. It's easier with big thighs (the chicken, rather than the cook).

I'm pretty cackhanded but I've somehow managed it a few times now.

I bet there's a video how-to somewhere online...

prolific I like the sound of African chicken. Is it straightforward?

[prolificwillybreeder]

I will definitely be trying some of these out!
I've been making Nigella's African Chicken from her latest book, kitchen is it? I really like it, its probably not very exciting compared to some of these.
Tyel- now don't laugh! What does tequila taste like on the chicken? I really want to try it but can't envisage what it tastes like. I realise that sounds odd.

[bibbitybobbityhat]

Omg, I am drooling.

Is it really easy to bone a chicken thigh? I guess there must be a knack.

[JenaiMarrHePlaysGuitar]

Oh Tyel those ideas sound fab.
Thank you :)

[Xiaoxiong]

Crushed garlic, oregano, salt and pepper to taste, vinegar (balsamic, sherry or red wine), olive oil, some sort of dried fruit (prunes, figs, apricots work well), green olives, capers with caper juice, and bay leaves. Marinade as long as you can, tip off excess liquid, then roast everything together.

Yoghurt and garlic marinades are lovely - if you want to go more European flavoured, add grain mustard and lots of fresh chopped herbs. Adding lemon juice, ginger, and indian spices (cumin, coriander, cayenne, cardamom, paprika) will make a tandoori marinade.

Tequila, lime juice, coriander and garlic is great for a more Mexican flavour.

Soy sauce, rice wine, grated/pureed ginger, garlic, a little bit of sugar and sesame oil will give you a Chinese style marinade - you can add chili flakes too if you like.