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Chicken Thigh

Herbed Chicken with Spring Vegetables

Intimidated by roasting and carving a whole chicken? This dish is just as aromatic and comforting, but is a lot easier to handle and serve. Everything cooks together in one pan, including the sauce.

Wet and Dry Chicken

Pat: In Memphis, barbecued meats are ordered either “dry” or “wet. “Dry” meats are coated with a dry spice rub before they’re cooked, and often sprinkled with those seasonings when they come off the grill. “Wet” meats are slathered with barbecue sauce. Folks who crave a double dose of flavor, like me, order foods “wet and dry,” meaning that the meat is sprinkled with dry rub before being cooked, then slathered with sauce afterward. This Memphis pit tradition has found its way into the repertoire of home cooks as well. The application of a dry rub works for meats cooked on the grill or, as our mothers are fond of doing, in the oven. In this recipe, we douse our chicken with a dry rub and then bake it in barbecue sauce. The result is moist, flavorful, falling-off-the-bone tender chicken. We serve this saucy chicken with steamed rice or hot buttered rolls to soak up all the tomatoey goodness, and the accompanying vegetables on the side. It’s no wonder the Neely boys became so good with the grill when Momma was feeding us dishes like this from her kitchen oven.

Get Yo’ Man Chicken

Gina: Like many of our favorite recipes, this one comes with a story, and, girl, I’m not about to let you down, because this is a tale of seduction. This is one of the recipes I made for Pat when I was courting him (and, most important, his stomach). The key to this dish is the scent it gives off while simmering on the stovetop. The minute your man walks in the house and gets a whiff, well, it’s game over (you may not even make it to the dinner table, hon!). It’s not a typical Southern dish—the chicken is essentially poached in tomato sauce and fresh herbs—but the end result is chicken that’s as tender as any rib that has been smoked for hours over a hickory pit. I use chicken thighs, because the dark meat is flavorful and moist, but you can also use chicken breasts if you are cooking for a breast man (who said that?!?). The result—well, we’re still married, aren’t we? We’re not courting anymore, but I still turn to this recipe when I need to get Pat around to my way of thinking—like when he discovers that Gucci bag I’ve splurged on! Ladies, handle your business and rule the house. Your man will never look at you the same.

Chicken Parmigiana, New-Style

This is a more contemporary version of one of the standbys of Italian-American cooking. Instead of coating a thin, breaded, and fried chicken cutlet with tomato sauce, I like to top a chicken thigh with sliced fresh tomatoes and slices of fresh mozzarella or Fontina cheese.A light sauce made with fresh tomatoes and basil finishes the plate. Fontina is a mellow, lightly aged cow’s-milk cheese that melts beautifully. Take the time to search out Italian Fontina—you’ll appreciate the creamy difference. You can prepare this dish using veal or pork cutlets as well (see variations below).

Ravioli with Meat Filling

This meat filling is similar to the one for cannelloni on page 165. You can use them interchangeably.

Chicken Cacciatore

Many cooks overload Italian-American-style red sauce with olive oil. While it is a healthy fat, it’s still a fat. At 120 calories per tablespoon, that’s a lot of leeway in the hands of a liberal cook. In this version, the olive oil has been reduced to 1/2 tablespoon for all 4 portions and it still tastes great. If you use chicken thighs, you’ll end up with a little more cholesterol but a lot more flavor. (If your diet requires very small amounts of cholesterol, use boneless, skinless chicken breast instead of the chicken thighs, and simmer them for only 10 to 12 minutes to prevent their drying out.
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