Emergency Chicken




Chicken grease from preparation
watched my son drew himself battling bad guy while cooking
No kidding, this is so simple to fix, I don't even call it a recipe. It is what I call a bandit hunger fix. It is not necessarily quick, but it is so easy you will feel it seems quick enough. No marinating, no coating and only 2 ingredients - chicken and salt. I shall one day blog about the first aid kit of hunger fixes. I like to buy smart chicken, as they are leaner and healthier and often, smaller. As a dark meat lover, I usually choose the thigh and it is also cheaper in the US. In Asia, it's the opposite. Simply place the towel-dried thighs skin side up into a completely dry and moderately heated frying pan and let it sit for about 10-15 minutes on one side on medium or slightly lower than medium heat. It would start to crisp as the chicken fat melts and cooks itself. if you can easily slide the chicken with a light push, it is ready to turn, then repeat the same process. It might splatter a little if chicken is wet, if that happens, place a cover on it but leave a little gap so your chicken would sear instead of boil. Once most of the water on the skin is burnt off, it will start to crisp. Depending on how cold or how big your chicken, the cook time can vary. I always cover the chicken after turning off the heat for about 10 mins This will ensure it is cook through, harder when the bones are attached and keep the juice from running out. For those who love salt, season the chicken before you place it into the pan. You will end up with perfectly cooked chicken (you can tell once you see the ligaments pulled away from the bone on the drumstick) and a lot of chicken grease to discard. I like to eat it just like that and it has a different texture then a baked chicken. Stewart loves to eat it with BBQ sauce and the kids love it chopped into cubes and eat with rice or potatoes. Sometimes on Sunday, I would make a batch and use them for salad or soup over the week. While the chicken is sizzling away, I could play with my kids or clean or even have a conversation with my husband. The thing to note is, don't rush even though it is easy. It does still need LOVE....check it, don't move it a whole lot but listen and feel it getting ready to present itself to you............