Chicken Four Ways (Part 1)

One of the great things about summer as a student is having the time to experiment with new recipes. I am not a self-professed meat lover, and let’s face it, cooking grains or legumes is so much less pressure. That said I am happy to add these simple chicken recipes to my repertoire.

First I started with drumsticks. I made Shutterbean’s Honey Lime Drumsticks.  I marinated the chicken in a honey, lime and minced garlic for a couple hours. Next time I will marinate it for longer, at least overnight. I didn’t have a grill, so I roasted these in the oven at 400 F for about 45 minutes, until the chicken reached an internal temperature of 165F. Then I broiled them for a few minutes to get a grilled-look. These were quite tasty and the marinade was so easy to mix together. My goal for next summer is to learn how to grill (and become a grill master!).

A couple weeks later, I made these chili chicken thighs with creamy cilantro sauce. This was also an easy marinade of honey, chili powder, amber beer, apple cider vinegar and olive oil. I was so excited that I already had all the ingredients. Instead of the called for sour cream in the cilantro sauce, I used Greek yogurt. I used cilantro from my sister’s herb garden on the balcony, which I have been watering all summer. So refreshing. This recipe is a keeper, though I will also try to marinate the chicken for longer if possible.

Featured: a healthy bunch of lettuce leaves also from our balcony garden.

While I’ve made drumsticks and thighs before, I’ve never marinated meat and I can see its appeal because you can infuse great flavours. Also, I cleaned up before I actually set out to cook later on, and the actual cooking was a breeze. After these successful chicken adventures, I later set out to tackle two kitchen bucket list items: roasting a chicken and spatchcocking a chicken. To be continued…