It was a test. I didn’t know how it would turn out, but I figured it couldn’t be terrible. My wife had purchased some bone-in, skin-on thighs for me at Costco, and I had one left over. The chicken was done up in several packs, with three thighs per pack. The first two I just pan seared, chopped and ate over rice with a bit of soy sauce and shichimi togarishi. But that third…what to do? And then it struck me: why not put chèvre under the skin and pan fry the little beggar? And so I did just that. I minced some rosemary and smashed it into a bit of the chèvre, and then rubbed that on the thigh under the skin. It’s a great way to introduce flavour to chicken, because whatever you put there stays there, and it’s protected by the skin. About four minutes on a side and I had beautifully crisp skin which hid a luscious cheesy surprise. It’s a minimal investment of time and money with a huge payoff.
The next night I got another pack of thighs out and I’ve made the cheese/rosemary mixture again. This time I added a single (small) clove of garlic, finely minced. Heaven! So here’s the “recipe” for Roasted Chicken Thighs with Chèvre, Rosemary and Garlic.
4 Chicken Thighs
2-3oz plain Chèvre, softened
2 tsp fresh Rosemary, minced fine
1 sm clove Garlic, minced
salt and pepper, to taste
In a small bowl, combine the last four ingredients. Mash well with a fork to combine.
Slide your (washed) fingers under the skin of the thighs to make a sort of pocket there, and smear a bit of your cheese mixture. Repeat with the other thighs. Set aside to rest for a few minutes. This can be done well in advance, even the day before. Season the thighs with salt and pepper just before cooking.
Heat your oven to 375°F. Sear the thighs skin side down in a hot pan, then flip and transfer pan to the oven for about ten minutes or to desired doneness. Allow to rest for five minutes, then serve.
Notes: you could add a bit of lemon peel to the cheese mixture if you like. Anything added should be minced as finely as possible, except for the garlic, which will become more potent the more finely it’s minced. Although if you LIKE strong garlic, be my guest. You could also substitute breasts for thighs here, but whatever you do, do NOT remove the skin. You don’t have to eat it, but it’s here to protect the cheese. And really, there’s no harm in eating a nice, crispy piece of chicken skin. Most of the fat gets rendered out in the cooking process anyway. You can encourage this by scoring the skin. Just be sure to not pierce the skin.
More recently I have taken to roasting the thighs from start to finish in the oven, doing six at a time. You should start them skin-side down and then flip them after ten minutes. Cook for at least another ten to fifteen minutes and then pull and rest the thighs before serving.
