Bird’s Eye Chicken Thighs
Recipe development and photography by Rochelle Keet
Chicken thighs are so versatile (and cheap too!). For this recipe, we use the humble chicken thigh to create an easy dish that you’ll want to make every week. The thighs are cooked with ADF Safari Smoke Seasoning to create a smoky, crispy chicken skin. The sauce is made with onions, mushrooms, and cream. ADF Bird’s Eye Chilli Sauce is added to give it just the right amount of heat. If you’re looking for an easy mid-week meal that packs a punch of flavor, then this spicy chicken thigh recipe is just the one you need. It’s also easy to adjust the heat of this recipe. Start with one teaspoon of Bird’s Eye Chilli Sauce, and increase as you like. Serve with mashed potatoes and a side of greens, and dinner is ready!
Servings:
4-6
PREP & COOK TIME:
15 mins prep time
40 mins cook time
Calories:
646 per serving
Bacon, chopped
8 oz
Chicken thighs (bone-in, skin-on)
6
3-4 tbsp
Brown onion, diced
1
Garlic cloves, crushed
2
Brown cremini mushrooms, sliced
8 oz
Sachet concentrated vegetable stock (alternatively, use a crumbled stock cube)
1
ADF Bird’s Eye Chilli Sauce (depending on how much heat you can handle)
1-3 tsp
Cream
1 cup
Butter and canola oil
as needed
Salt and pepper
to taste
DIRECTIONS:
- Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C. Season the chicken thighs with salt, pepper and the ADF Safari Smoke Seasoning. Set aside.
- Fry the bacon in an oven safe skillet over medium heat until cooked and crispy. Removed with a slotted spoon, leaving bacon grease in the skillet. If there isn’t enough bacon grease left, you can add knob of butter and 1 tsp canola oil.
- Place the thighs in the medium-hot skillet, skin side down. Continue to cook until the skin is brown and crispy. Try not to move them to much at the start of cooking.
- When the skin has browned, turn them over, and continue to cook another 5-10 minutes until brown. Remove the thighs, and set them aside.
- Add the diced onions to the empty skillet. Cook until soft and translucent. Add the crushed garlic and cook another 30 seconds until fragrant. Remove the onions from the pan and set aside.
- Add the sliced mushrooms. If there isn’t enough fat left, you can another knob of butter with oil. Cook until brown and all excess moisture has evaporated.
- Return the onions to the skillet. Add the stock sachet and the ADF Bird’s Eye Chilli Sauce (start with one teaspoon and increase to your desired heat level).
- Add the cream to the onion and mushroom. Cook until the cream thickens slightly.
- Return the chicken thighs to the skillet, skin-side up, nestling them in the sauce.
- Bake in the oven (uncovered) for 15-20 minutes or until cooked and the internal temperature registers at 165°F/74°C.
- Serve with mashed potatoes (or bread to soak up the delicious mushroom sauce) and green beans.
NOTES:
- Don’t use lean bacon for this recipe! You need the fat from the bacon to cook the rest of the ingredients.
- This recipe creates a delicious sauce, so serve it with mashed potatoes or fresh bread—anything that will mop up that yummy sauce!
- We used skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs for this recipe as it has delicious flavor, and you get crispy skin, too! If you want a leaner version, you use chicken breast or boneless chicken thighs (just make sure to reduce the cooking time. Of course, you’d still be using cream, so we say go all out with fattening chicken thighs…you only live once!
