An Easy, Weeknight-Friendly Chicken Recipe
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Photo by Mark Weinberg
Today: Skip the grocery store line and look to your pantry for all of the ingredients for these parcooked chicken thighs.
More: 10 not boring chicken breast recipes
There are few weeknight meals as satisfying as a perfectly roasted chicken, but the level of dedicaton — and patience — required to cook an entire bird can be difficult to conjure after a long day. Luckily, a simple switch of anatomy paired with a delicious marinade can yield a chicken as hearty and delicious as a roast, in half the time.
More: 7 delicious ways to roast a chicken
Something of a braise in reverse, this recipe for St. Claire Chicken calls for the chicken to be partially cooked in the oven, then finished over a grill or under a broiler. This cooking method allows the chicken thighs to soak in a lot of marinade, even if it hasn’t sat in it all day, with a crispy finish. The best part? As long as you have a well-stocked refrigerator and pantry, you should already have most of the ingredients for this marinade — by the time you would have reached the front of the rush hour grocery store line, you’ll be home, digging into this parsley-flecked, tender chicken.
More: 11 weeknight meals you can make without a recipe
Serves 6
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
3/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed
5 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons dry mustard
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 teaspoons parsley, chopped, to garnish
Mix all of the ingredients aside from the chicken and parsley in a baking dish large enough to fit both the chicken and the marinade.
Add chicken and coat each piece with the marinade. Marinate, refrigerated, for up to 10 hours.
Preheat oven to 350º F and remove chicken from refrigerator. Bake, uncovered, in the marinade for 30 minutes until parcooked.
Remove from oven and finish cooking the chicken on the grill, or finish it under the broiler. Serve hot or warm. Garnish with chopped parsley.
Author Notes: This is a delicious recipe with a winning technique. Parcooking the chicken in the marinade really gives a depth of flavor to these chicken thighs. It’s easy enough for a weeknight meal, yet impressive enough for company. - Elizabeth Becker
