Module 2-3 Recipe: Donna’s pan-seared crispy chicken thighs

I made this for dinner with mashed potatoes, pan gravy, and roasted mixed vegetables. Make extra chicken for an easy chicken salad for lunch the next day.

I prefer to use bone-in chicken thighs with the skin on. I think the bone gives added flavor, and who doesn’t love crispy chicken skin?

Tools:

• Stainless steel skillet
• Tongs
• Instant read thermometer
• Splatter Screen
• Baking sheet with a rack

Ingredients:

• 1 T. clarified butter, ghee, or cooking oil * (do not use butter or margarine)
• 4-6 chicken thighs (bone-in with skin)
• sea salt
• black pepper (freshly ground)
• 1/2 t. dried basil (I just lightly sprinkled so this is approximate)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 ° F
• Trim the fat and excess skin from the chicken thighs.
• Thoroughly pat the chicken dry with a paper towel before seasoning, This will ensure a delicious crispy skin.**
• Lift the skin (don’t pull it off) and season under the skin with salt, pepper, and a sprinkle of the dried basil.
• Sprinkle a little salt, pepper, and basil on the outside of the skin as well. Be sure to season both sides of the chicken
• Heat skillet as you learned in Module 2-2 with the water drop test and add oil.
• At the first wisp of smoke, add the chicken, skin-side down. You should hear a nice sizzle. Adjust the heat as necessary. (Listen to the food). You can use a splatter screen if you have one
• Using a pair of tongs, turn the chicken after the skin browns. Brown the second side as well. (Don’t keep turning the chicken. You should turn ONLY once)
• Once both sides are brown, place on a rack sitting inside a cooking sheet and put in a 350° F oven until done. This should take about 30 minutes.
• Use an instant read thermometer to test for doneness. Chicken should be about 160 -165 F
• Allow to rest 5 minutes before serving.

Notes:

*  I used ghee for the nutty flavor. Peanut oil or any neutral flavored oil such as canola oil would also work. Just be sure that the oil you choose has a high smoke point. Butter or margarine would not work as it will burn  with the high heat required to get a brown, crispy skin.

** What is the secret to crispy skin? It is simple, be sure to pat the chicken dry with a paper towel before seasoning. Also never cook a partially frozen or frozen piece of chicken. This will make the chicken tough. Be sure that it is completely thawed prior to cooking. You can also season the thawed thighs and put them uncovered in the fridge for about an hour before cooking.

This is a great youtube video on cooking chicken thighs. He uses a cast-iron skillet,but the concept is the same for a stainless steel skillet.

3 ways to cook chicken thighs

Module 2-3: Recipe: Pan-Fried Chicken Breast Medallions

Let’s use the concepts that we learned in Module 2, Lesson 1 by pan frying some chicken breasts.

Equipment that you will need:

• Stainless steel frying pan
• Tongs

Ingredients:

• Chicken breast medallions
• Cooking oil (canola is a good option as you want an oil with a high smoke point)
• Seasoning (keep it simple and delicious with salt and pepper)
• Lemon juice (a tasty option but not required)

Before cooking you need to cut the chicken breast into medallions. Chicken medallions come from the breast, but they aren’t the whole breast. Medallions cook quickly and evenly due to their uniform size.

A whole chicken breast is too uneven and thick to make a medallion. You need to make cuts so that your medallions will be uniform.  Begin by cutting the breast in half lengthwise, angling the cut so both halves are an equal width. Once you have thinner breast filets, you can cut them to medallion size, which requires cutting them in halves or thirds so each measures about 2 inches square. Now that we have our medallions and mise en place, let’s cook some food.

Step 1: Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel and season it well with salt and pepper (this is a part of your mise en place)

Don’t be afraid of seasoning your food!

Step 2: Heat skillet to mercury ball stage

Step 3: Add oil to the pan, and wait for the shimmer and first wisp of smoke

Step 4: Add chicken medallions quickly (be sure not to crowd the pan, work in stages if needed)

Step 5: Listen to the sizzle and adjust temperature accordingly

Step 6: Turn when brown (check by lifting edge with a pair of tongs to check for browness)

Step 7: Brown the other side

Step 8: Squeeze a few drops of lemon juice on top of the chicken and serve.

Note: Do not keep turning the medallions. Allow one side to brown before turning.