Chicken Thighs With Crispy Sage
Submitted by Sean Kelly
This is based on a recipe I came across as I felt I don't use sage anywhere near enough in my cooking, and we had plenty to use. Lacking allotment-grown shallots, I used elephant garlic instead in addition to normal garlic (elephant garlic is milder), and sage from the allotment. The sage goes nice and crispy. The recipe is for cooking in a skillet, but I have adapted as I do not have one and found it worked just fine frying the chicken thighs in a pan then transferring to a roasting tray while preparing the sauce.
Chicken Thighs with Crispy Sage
1. Leave the chicken to sit for 15 minutes at room temperature. Pat dry with a kitchen towel then season with salt and pepper.
2. Preheat the oven to 220 degrees celsius
3. Heat the oil in a skillet or large frying pan over a medium heat. Once hot, add the sage and fry for a couple of minutes or so until crispy. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and leave on a paper towel-lined plate.
4. Turn the heat up to medium-high and cook the chicken thighs skin side down for two minutes until nicely browned. Lower the heat to medium-low and cook for ten minutes, rotating the chicken occasionally but not turning it over.
5. When the skin is crispy and browned, turn over and either transfer the skillet to an oven or transfer to a roasting tray if you lack a skillet. Cook for 22-24 minutes until it's cooked through.
6. Prepare the sauce ingredients while the chicken is cooking.
7. Remove the chicken from the skillet or roasting tray and set aside. Keep around two tablespoons-worth of the fat.
8. Add the garlic and shallot to the pan or skillet over a medium-high heat and cook for a minute.
9. Sprinkle over the flour and stir for one minute.
10. Add the vermouth or wine, lemon juice and broth.
11. Cook, while stirring occasionally, until the sauce has reduced by half and is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. This should take 8-10 minutes.
12. Lower the heat and stir in the butter for one minute. Season with salt and pepper and add more lemon juice if you like.
13. Pour the source over the chicken and crispy sage to serve.