How to Stuff a Chicken Thigh
It’s the cold, harsh truth that people who prefer chicken breast to their thighs are less sensual. Just like the styrofoam plastic wrap you find them in, boneless, skinless chicken breasts, joyless and devoid of the pleasure of eating. What reminds us that the meat was sourced from a living, breathing animal – bones, skin, fat, collagen – is what makes the thigh so damn delicious, and the intuitive nature of eating it should be accepted.
Can you cook something tasty from chicken breast? Certainly. You can flatten them , burn them and stuff them , but why do all this work when the thigh is much tastier with much less manipulation? The only obvious benefit of breasts is their ability to fill. Once flattened, it easily wraps around the filling to form a neat little pouch, very similar to the aesthetics of a soft chicken breast.
But the thighs can also be stuffed – no kitchen twine is required. Instead of folding or rolling the meat around the filling, we use one of the natural gifts of the thigh and form a small pocket between the meat and the skin, perfect for storing various treasures. The peel keeps roasted vegetables, fresh herbs or slices of ham next to the meat, giving it flavor. Cheese can be a little tricky as it tends to ooze, but a little planning on your part can help keep it in place.
As a child of the 90s, fresh goat cheese speaks to me here. I like to mix it with herbs and garlic – or sun-dried tomatoes if I’m really nostalgic – then take about a tablespoon and a half of the mixture, roll it into a ball and gently place it in the center of my thigh. under the skin, being careful not to flatten the cheese ball. The ball will slowly melt, gradually moving towards the edges, rather than splashing out into the pan. (Some cheese is unavoidable, especially on smaller thighs, but use that to your advantage and smear all of the lost cheese on top of your thigh for a flavorful crust.) There are many ways to stuff a thigh, but garlic, herbal goat cheese is a good place to start. Feel free to add vegetables or jerky to the mixture; mushrooms and prosciutto would be very useful.
Chicken thighs with goat cheese stuffed with garlic and herbs
Ingredients:
- 4 chicken thighs with bone and skin
- 2 teaspoons of salt
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 4 ounce chevres
- 6 cloves of garlic
- 6 sprigs of your favorite herbs (I used thyme, oregano and tarragon)
- Pepper to taste
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 ℉. Salt both sides of each thigh with 1/4 teaspoon of salt, being careful to fold over the entire skin to reach the meat at the bottom. Melt the butter in a stainless steel or cast iron skillet over medium to low heat, chop the garlic and herbs, then cook until the herbs are flavorful and the garlic is golden brown. Toss the cheese, herbs, and garlic in a food processor.
Divide the cheese into quarters and don’t worry if they aren’t quite equal, as some thighs are larger than others and there should be a little more cheese on those thighs. Gently separate the skin from the meat, starting at the very top edge of the thigh, leaving the skin connected as best as possible at the other edges. Roll each cheese into a ball, then pierce it under the skin, placing it in the center of your thigh. Season the top with pepper to taste, press the skin side up against the herbs and garlic skillet and place in the oven until the instant thermometer reads 165 ℉ at the thickest part of the thigh (about 45 minutes). While the chicken is cooking, check it every 15 minutes or so, and brush the skin with ghee and any extraneous cheese to keep the skin crispy and browned.