Tony Lakroix
Thighs are yummy!
Now get your mind out of the gutter, I’m talking about chicken thighs. (insert funny grin here). Many of us skip this chicken cut when shopping in the meat section of the grocery store. But did you know there are some very tasty and quite easy ways to prepare these?
The first time I had chicken thighs was about 10 years ago. Yes, it looked a little odd (in its’ raw form)… all I could ask myself was “how to prepare this?”. When I had my first bite into this crunchy, moist and flavourful piece of foodie heaven I was hooked! It had been prepared in the traditional way that my partners’ family had been doing so for years: breaded and baked.
Breaded Chicken Thighs
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
1 pack of chicken thighs (boneless and skinless, about 6 to 8 pieces) 1 cup of bread crumbs (if un-seasoned, add 1 tbs. of dried oregano) 2 tbs. of grated parmesan cheese 1 tsp. of salt 1 tsp. of cracked black pepper 2 eggs (lightly beaten) 1 cup of flour Olive oil 2 tbs. of unsalted butter
Directions: rinse the chicken thighs under cold water, pat dry with paper towel. For these next steps you will need 3 shallow dishes. In the first combine the bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. In the second: slightly beat the 2 eggs. In the third: place the flour.
Now the assembly line part: place in this order the shallow dishes of: flour, egg, breadcrumbs. Take one thigh, run it through the flour, making sure it’s well covered, then run it in the egg mixture and finally in the breadcrumbs. Repeat these steps until all thighs are ready for cooking.
In an oven proof frying pan on medium heat, melt butter with a few tablespoons of olive oil. When butter is melted, place the breaded thighs into the pan and allow to cook for about 5 minutes on each side (you want to allow them to become a nice golden colour
before flipping them). After this, drizzle a good amount of olive oil over the thighs. Place the pan (un-covered) in the oven and cook for 45 minutes at 375 degrees.
Variations: for a gluten free or paleo version: replace the regular flour with coconut flour and the breadcrumbs with sliced almonds (and forgo the cheese for my paleo friends). Also, these are a great snack the day after, no need to re-heat them, simply enjoy cold. Don’t be afraid to experiment with spices in this recipe: simply add your favourite spices to the breadcrumbs (ex.: for a Tex-Mex version add 1 tsp. of chili seasoning). Chicken thighs are also quite popular in Asian cooking, soups and Indian dishes.
As always, If you have cooking or baking questions that you would like me to answer in this column, please send them to food@lovelovefood.com or drop by for a chat at the Love Love Food shop located at 10 Fourth St. East, Unit B, Cornwall (off Pitt St
