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Chicken breasts are wonderful and delicious recipes abound, but, I have a confession. My true love is dark meat. Now that boneless, skinless chicken thighs are readily available, I am one happy chickie. But how to prepare these little boneless, skinless gems of chicken thigh?
I pulled out all of my favorite cookbooks one after another and couldn't find any boneless chicken thigh recipes until I came to Italian Grill by Mario Batali. Thank you, Mario!
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The recipe includes a combination of bread crumbs, parsley, garlic, anchovies and olive oil mixed together to coat the chicken thighs. The ingredients sounded wonderful. The big problem was that the mixture just wouldn't not stick to the chicken thighs. The skinless meat was just too slick to hold on to the coating. My solution? Whatever wouldn't stick to the outside, I stuffed on the inside!
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Mario's recipe suggests grilling them on an outdoor grill but it was just too cold here so I used my cast iron grill pan instead.
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They were so delicious! Serve with your favorite side dishes and you will be chick yourself.
Mario's Grilled Chicken Thighs
Recipe Adapted from Italian Grill by Mario BataliPrintable Recipe
Serves 4
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1-1/2 cups fresh bread crumbs
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons anchovy paste*
1/3 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped
6 cloves of garlic, minced
Combine the bread crumbs, olive oil, anchovy paste, parsley and garlic in a food processor and process until nicely chopped and well-combined.
Heat grill (or preheat a cast iron grill pan over medium heat on the stove) to medium high.
On a work surface, unfold the chicken thighs and place about 3 tablespoons of the bread crumb mixture on each thigh. Roll them up tightly and secure with kitchen string. Any remaining bread crumb mixture can be patted onto the outside of the chicken.
Brush the grill pan with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and arrange the thighs 'presentation side' down first on the pan. Cover the grill pan loosely with a lid and cook for about 15 minutes before turning. Turn and cook the other side for an additional 15-20 minutes until fully cooked.
Cut off kitchen string, serve and enjoy!
*The original recipe calls for anchovy filets.
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This chicken looks wonderfully delicious. The flavors are intense and go so well together. YOur pictures are making me so hungry! I'll make this!
ReplyDeleteYVonne
They look delicious! I'd make those for Mike and white meat for me..
ReplyDeleteHope your puter troubles aren't lasting!
Those look delicious! Happy Foodie Friday!
ReplyDeleteDelicious!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. I think dark meat is much more flavorful than white meat. Mario's recipe look fabulous-wow! That is a wonderful way to cook boneless skinless thighs. Nice.
ReplyDeleteSusan, these sound fabulous! All you have to do is say the word "anchovy paste" to me, and I'm over the moon. And I'm also a dark meat fan. I got some drumbsticks and wings the other night from Publix that had been marniated in something, and I've never seen them before or since... they were WONDERFUL! I happened into a different Publix, and they were offering them. And I would eat them daily if I could! And now, I'm determined to try these that you made. Thanks so much for the heads up on that recipe!
ReplyDeleteHappy Foodie Friday...
XO,
Sheila :-)
Sounds wonderful. I love using my cast iron pan, makes everything cook so evenly.
ReplyDeleteThese look delicious! I am always looking for new recipes for chicken. Can't wait to give this one a try!
ReplyDeleteI am all about the dark meat as well. I'd rather have a little tasty delicious dark meat than a lot of dry boring white meat. My personal opinion.
ReplyDeleteThis recipe looks delicious! I am picky about my parsley recipes but I love it with breadcrumbs. Somehow the two just complement each other so well...
I love Mario's recipes. My husband likes dark meat, too, so I'll have to try the recipe. The photos are so beautiful. I scratched the sensor in my camera today trying to remove a hair...I think it's done for, though Bandy is working on it.
ReplyDeleteXX
Looks wonderful. Wonder if I could get my husband to eat anchovies???
ReplyDeleteI am like Kathleen, it has to be white meat...but Howard would love this recipe.
ReplyDeleteI found boneless, skinless chicken thighs at Costco a year ago and we gave them a try. They were good in Chicken Parm but I couldnt think of anything else to do with them. We will try your recipe : )
ReplyDeleteI think I will like your version more.....moist on the inside and crunchy on the outside...... Des he not suggest regular chicken pieces that has slightly more texture for the crumbs to stick to??? Anyway you did great!!!!
ReplyDeletequesto piatto mi mette fame!!! bravissima!!
ReplyDeleteYou must be part Italian, Yvonne-any Italian cook knows-you just make it work! And you did! it looks wonderful. My parents will ONLY eat dark meat, so I'll be making this for sure
ReplyDeletexoxo Pattie
Hey, I am a dark meat chickie too! I am the only one in my household that will touch the dark, but my best friend loves the dark so she will be thrilled to have a new recipe. Thanks for sharing Susan!
ReplyDeleteIt's one of those Italian secrets to put anchovies in beef stews... but on chicken thighs??? that is inspired.
ReplyDeleteGreat recipe!!
I would have stuffed them too:) We rack rack of lamb and our pecan crust was falling off too:) Even w/ honey and mustard..so whatever fell off..we ate as a small side dish:) It looks great Susan.I am sure we would enjoy this.
ReplyDeleteThis dish looks delicious!Great recepie,thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHugs,Annalisa @cookingeasy
Susan, tasty-looking thighs ... I only eat dark meat and my husband only eats white. I'd guess that this recipe would be tasty on breasts also. I like your creativity with the coating. :)
ReplyDeleteWe love dark meat and dark meat combined with anchovies guarantees I'll be a slavish follower. These look absoulutely wonderful. Have a great day. Blessings...Mary
ReplyDeleteI am a white chicken meat lover and my husband likes the dark meat, so we can always happily share a chicken! :)
ReplyDeleteI like Mario's recipes as they are very rustic Italian ..the way my mother-in-law would cook. She could do so much with so few ingredients. Anchovies? Yum!
Lovely Mario dish. I tend to favor chicken breasts, but I know I should give skinless thighs a chance. They are more flavorful for sure.
ReplyDeleteSam
Looks amazing! Not a huge fan of breast meat either.
ReplyDeleteYum, Susan. I love dark meat best too and Mario's crunchy topping is filled with flavor! Cast iron pans are good for so many things. I love mine. Makes the best fried chicken ever.
ReplyDeleteDarn, I don't have an anchovi paste in the house or I'd be making these tomorrow. Will have to save the recipe for sure!
ReplyDelete:)
ButterYum
This looks like another wonderful recipe - you do find the best or maybe it is just your photography making everything look like a prize winning meal!
ReplyDeleteI love food and I certainly love this blog. I havent tried this recipe before, so thanks for sharing and have a fab weekend :)
ReplyDeleteAmazing, Susan, how you can make raw chicken look fantastic! Another great looking recipe, it looks delicious! I love your solution! I have to try this!
ReplyDeleteSusan, these look awesome. I used a similar bread crumb mixture with anchovies for some fish and it was A MAY ZING. To make it stick to the fish, I rolled the fish in flour, dipped it in beaten egg and then patted the bread crumbs on it. That helped the bread crumbs stick to the fish. I wonder if it would help with your chicken thighs?
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting this.
I wonder why the coating did not stick? I wonder if the chicken had to be dipped into an egg bath perhaps and it was just not printed on the recipe? Maybe more crumb? Well it looks like you found a solution and sounds delicious. I think I will have to try this one even if I have to stuff the chicken. We eat every single morsel of food in our home and not one person ever complains how it looks/presentation and if they do I tell them to go and eat at Mickey Ds for the rest of the week:) I guess I am a short temper cook instead of a short order cook:) Happy Valentine's day.
ReplyDeleteJoyce
I made this yesterday. I did not have a problem with it really staying on the chicken. I put the coating on one side and cooked it then before turning it over I added the coating to the other side. This was very tender but for my own taste I think 1 teaspoon of anchovy paste is enough since it is concentrated. I will make this again! Thanks for sharing
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip on the coating! I haven't made this in a while so happy to have you bring it back to my attention :)
ReplyDelete