Chicken made easy---and foolproof!

[Dave Grubb]

I do this for skin on, bone in chicken thighs.

Heat a pan (I use either a 10" cast iron or a 12" heavy carbon steel). Heat it on high until it is hot---maybe 5 minutes. While the pan is heating up salt the skin side of your chicken. When the pan is good and hot, add a little oil, swirl that around and add the chicken, skin side down. Then salt the top side and put a cover over the pan.

Depending on the size of your burner leave it on high for at least 5 minutes then turn it down to a medium heat and go away. Come back in 20 minutes and check the temperature with a meat thermometer. I like 165+. When you have hit or exceeded that goal----turn off the heat and take the chicken out.

The skin will be crispy and nothing will stick to the pan. Make sure you use a pan large enough that the chicken is not crowded.

That's all folks---sit down and enjoy

Tonight I made chicken thighs with fresh snow peas----4 minutes in the microwave

My wife, who does not cook, thinks I'm a genius----if she only knew

[Mike]

It sounds good, but I think 5 minutes on high would cause a fire on my gas stove. Are you using gas or electric?

[Dave Grubb]

Gas, and on a big burner. These are both very heavy skillets. The 12" steel pan is French and while I have never measured it i'd guess about .075" thick. It is not a one handed pan.

For lighter pans I think you are right, I would never try this with aluminium.

[Dave Grubb]

Another advantage to this is that all the fat under the skin is rendered out and you are left with excellent schmaltz.

[Dave Grubb]

I was wrong on the thickness of the steel pan, it is 3 mm or 0.118". The weight is just under 8 lbs. and is called 14".

[UTAH]

Had to look up "schmaltz" to understand your meaning, Dave.

Hunter

[Dave Grubb]

Had to look up "schmaltz" to understand your meaning, Dave.

Hunter

Oy Vey, anyone who spends time in and about NYC will acquire a Yiddish vocabulary.

oy vey
/oi ˌvā/
exclamation
indicating dismay or grief.

Schmaltz (also spelled schmalz or shmalz) is rendered (clarified) chicken or goose fat. It is an integral part of traditional Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine, where it has been used for centuries in a wide array of dishes, such as chicken soup, latkes, matzah brei, chopped liver, matzah balls, fried chicken, and many others, either as a cooking fat, spread, or flavor enhancer.

and informally:

schmaltz
/SHmälts,SHmôlts/
Learn to pronounce
nounINFORMAL
excessive sentimentality, especially in music or movies.
"at the end of the film the audience are drowned in a sea of schmaltz"

And now you are on your way

[UTAH]

All good, my friend. I'm hoping my addiction to old Seinfeld episodes will keep my street Yiddish intact.

Hunter

[Phillbo]

I don't eat chicken skin and have never watched a Seinfeld episode....Too much bickering for me to last 2 minutes.

[Dave Grubb]

Too much bickering for me to last 2 minutes.

That's more than I knew

[UTAH]

Yeah, Seinfeld is literally a show about nothing. Yet, there was a dark undertone whereby the main characters focus on things that are trivial. And, it all catches up with them in the end. For, all four of them get jailed for one year due to their narcissistic indifference to others.

In the last episode, they do a video of themselves being snarky about a guy who's robbed right in front of them. The town they are in has just passed a law requiring people to help others. After the jury sees the tape of them ridiculing the victim, they are found guilty for doing nothing when the guy needed help.

Hunter