What is a good way (besides grilling) to use chicken leg quarters? They are so cheap when bought in bulk, but I need something different to do with them.
A great way to do it that my family loves is to bake them. I put the leg quarters in a glass casserole dish with a bit of Extra Virgin Olive Oil in the bottom (just enough to coat the bottom and prevent sticking.) Then I take a brush and brush a bit of the EVOO on the top and season with Adobo. Adobo is my sort of catch all, umbrella seasoning. Then just bake it about 30 min on 350 (or until cooked all the way through.) It goes great with a pot of white or Spanish (yellow) rice.
I just put four quarters in a rectangular glass dish, mixed up soy sauce (1/4 cup) Ketchup (2 tbsp.) and minced garlic. Poured that, along with a few drops of olive oil on the chicken. Baked at 350 for 1 hour.
Made rice, flavored with salt, pepper and ginger and made an Asian Feast! Yum-O!
Alton Brown (Food Network "Good Eats") just did a bit on Coq a Vin - said thighs and legs were the best to use! (instead of rooster). You could probably do a simpler version than the classic several-step recipe he showed.
Use leftover duck sauce, soy sauce, and hot sauce from the chinese take out. Use all three ( easy on the soy sauce) to marinate the chicken legs in the fridge for 1-2 hours and bake .Do not add water or cover the baking pan. mmmm mmmm good.
It works as easily for chicken as it does for pork:
Ingredients:
Chicken quarters/thighs/drumettes Mesquite BBQ sauce (1 reg size bottle) 2 Large onions (whatever kind you like) 1/4 cup white vinegar 1 cup water
Skin the chicken quarters Par-boil chicken in salted water for 10 mins: Dice onions
Place diced onions in bottom of crockpot Pour on all of the sauce & water. Into the empty BBQ sauce put the vinegar. Shake the bottle well and pour into the crockpot Stir the mixture well Add the chicken. Stir the mixture again. Turn on the crockpot, cook for 2hrs on high & 6 to 8hrs on low.
Can be served with rice, baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, salad, pasta, egg noodles, etc. It is also great just pulled from the bones and served on whole grain buns with a green salad.
It is delicious, economical, and healthy. Just for the record, any good spicey BBQ sauce will work....we happen to like Mesquite :0) Also, if you like peppers, you could add green, red, and/or yellow peppers to it.
I agree with the chix pot pie recipe! A big hit, easy to freeze for crazy day dinners. Also, cook 'em, dice 'em, then toss with italian seasoning and freeze. On crazy days, thaw and then toss into a salad or make sandwiches. Dark meat has all of the flavor, anyway, so why spend all the money for white meat?
Been doing this with skinless boneless breasts-- should work for quarters-- baking dish, italian crumbs, parmesan cheese, preferred seasoning. --mix crumbs, seasoning and cheese. I coat the baking pan with olive oil- dip the chicken in crumb mixture and into pan-- bake-- think about 40-45 minutes at 350. Sorry I bake by sight and nose-- sure is good... Have used Canadian Chicken seasoning-- more italian seasoning-- adding parsley-- could use fresh or dried cilantro-- I know Cajun seasoning is good-- starting to experiment with lime pepper seasoning.... good luck
I like to Oven Fry my chicken. I sprinkle a blend of Lawry's Seasoning Salt, Garlic Powder & Onion Powder over all the chicken quarters, flour them, dip in egg and milk, and reflour them. Place on a greased cookie sheet in a 350 degree oven (WITH NO OIL!!); as the chicken fries, it makes its own oil/drippings. Cook until the chicken is golden brown and juices run clear. Make gravy with the drippings scraped off of the pan (make sure you get all the chicken bits!) and serve with mashed potatoes!
Then with the leftovers a couple of days later, I put the cooked chicken quarters in a greased baking dish and cover with a mixture of Cream of Celery Soup, Cream of Mushroom Soup mixed with milk poured in one of the soup cans. Mix this soup & milk up really well before pouring over the chicken quarters. Bake in 350 degree oven until the soup is bubbly, golden brown. Serve with Garlic Mashed Potatoes...Nummmmmyyy!!!
I make delicious chicken and rice soup with leg quarters, or just the thighs alone. Boil the chicken until the meat is falling off the bone; then pick out the bone, fat, skin and gristle, just leaving the good meat in the broth. Cook rice in the meat and broth, adding salt to taste, until done - yummy! You do have to add water intermittently to this to have the soup the thickness you desire. The nice thing about this recipe is that you can make as much or as little as you want, by adding more or less rice to the meat/broth.
I like to make chicken enchiladas, Catalina chickens (Equal parts Catalina salad dressing, canned whole cranberries, you can use just the jelly but it's better using it with a whole berries), ranch dressing and rice. To get a good variety from a 10 lb. bag of lay quarters, in 9 by 13 pans , divided in to 4 to 6 compartments with a solid sheet aluminum foil, make several different types. Using 3 quarters perception, will put hot sauce on 1 section, spaghetti sauce on another, Italian salad dressing on another. Lemon pepper and even a little soy sauce with the little diced onion and celery on another, this way I have several meals with only having to use dishes and firing up the oven only wants. I do have a food saver they will last for very, very long time and never get freezer burn. I hope this helps
My son bake's the chicken until crisp drain's the grease and add's lipton rice[or any your family like, follow directions] and add a bag of frozen brocolli or any vegie's, continue to bake on low . Wonderful and only one pan.
Kraft makes a new salad dressing called "Asian Toasted Sesame". It is delicious on chicken! Brush it on your chicken and grill. Mix it with soy sauce or chicken broth and use it to marinate. Brush it on the chicken then roll pieces in bread crumbs, crushed peanuts, or crushed sesame sticks(don't use the kind with honey -- they don't crush, they turn to paste) and bake. I'm sure you'll come up with lots of other ideas. Give it a try!
Pull the skin off the chicken quarters and then grab the leg in one hand and TWIST- the leg will become seperated at the joint and then you can take a sharp knife and seperate the leg from the thigh. Use the chicken any way you want.
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Request: Recipes Using Chicken Quarters
Archived on 06/20/2007
I have an abundance of chicken quarters in my freezer. There is only my husband and I but I would like some ideas on how to spice these up a little. Any suggestions appreciated!
Cookiepom from Owensboro, KY
Answers:
RE: Recipes Using Chicken Quarters
I boil leg quarters and make chicken and dumplings and soup. Debone the chicken and use in casserole or cut up meat and use as chicken salad. Freeze leftover meat and it makes a quick meal using noodles and cream of chicken condensed soup for gravy (no water added) I find that dark meat has a better flavor and is moist. You could also just put in oven and top with seasoning. Don't forget to use the crockpot! (03/09/2006)
We use ours to make chicken pot pies. Just cut up cooked or boiled chicken into bite size pieces and add 1 can cream of chicken soup (10 3/4 oz), 1 pkg (about 9 oz) frozen vegetables, and 1 cup cut up chicken. Mix together and place in 9x13 baking pan. Take 1/2 cup milk, 1 egg, 1 cup all purpose baking mix and mix these 3 ingredients together and pour over chicken mixture Bake @400 for about 30 minutes or until golden. This is really yummy
Chicken and Rice Bake
Although this recipes calls for chicken breast we use thighs and legs a lot as they are cheaper. 1 (10 3/4 oz) cream mushroom soup add to 1 c water and 3/4 c (uncooked) rice mix well.put in 9x 13 pan and place chicken on top of mixture and bake @375 for 45 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.
Smothered Chicken
Heat 1 tbs oil in skillet over medium heat. Add 4 chicken breasts (or other chicken pieces) cook over medium heat about 10 minutes. Drain oil. Add 1 can (10 3/4 oz) cream mushroom soup to 1 c water
in 2 qt saucepan. Heat to a boil. Pour over chicken, cover and cook over low heat about 5 minutes or until chicken is done (no longer pink). Smothered chicken can also be used with the same recipe for pork chops. (03/09/2006)
I boil and pull the meat from the bones, returning the bones and skin etc. back into the pot. Add whole celery, quartered un-peeled onion and carrots to the pot of broth. Add more water and cook for a couple hours at a simmer. Bag the pulled meat into two cup portions (only need be 1 cup portions for 2 people), remove air, seal and freeze.
Strain the carcass and the veggies from the stock, portion and freeze it. Makes wonderful noodles and soups.
I use the chicken in fajitas, creamed chicken, chicken helper, casseroles, soups, noodles, stirfry, bbq sandwiches, chicken salad, etc, etc. We just used some last night with some zucchini, yellow squash, onion, peppers, mushrooms, garlic and sazon, black pepper, seasoning salt, a little crushed red pepper and about half a stick of butter. Hubby loved it. I served it over rice and he ate two huge heaping plates and then ate the leftovers today for lunch. I love these quarters because they are so frugal, but to fix just plain chicken meat, my crew think they need breasts, but when I use these in something, they never complain. (03/09/2006)
By Brenda
RE: Recipes Using Chicken Quarters
skinless chicken parts
sliced potatoes and sliced onion (to taste)
chicken bullion cube or 8 ozs. chicken broth.
Desired seasonings
1 lb sour cream
Brown skinless chicken pieces in dutch oven using equal parts canola oil and butter/soft oleo. Leave juices in pan. After browning well, layer potatoes and onions starting with potatoes and finishing with onions. Be sure to salt the potatoes well. Add chicken broth or bullion cube dissolved in 8 ozs. hot water at the side of the pan.
Cover tightly - use dutch oven cause it needs a curving upwards top to allow the steam to form droplets and drip back down on the potatoes. Simmer till all done. Remove to a heated platter leaving liquid in pan. Mix in 1 lb sour cream a little at a time while stirring. Pour cream mixture over chicken and potatoes or serves sour cream mixture in a gravy boat and let everyone help themselves. I prefer the latter. (03/09/2006)
By Joan in CT.
RE: Recipes Using Chicken Quarters
I make a chicken and rice dish to die for. Rinse 1 cup rice (white or brown) place in bottom of pan that will fit the amount chicken quarters used. Cut up 1 onion, 1 stalk celery, sliced carrots and any veggie you want to get rid of. Add to rice and season with a generous sprinkle of cumin, paprika, salt, pepper, tumeric or any other spice you like. Mix 1 can cream of mushroom soup with 1 can water and pour 1/2 of mixture over rice and stir into rice and veggie mixture. Place chicken on top of rice and pour remaining soup mixture on chicken. Again season chicken to your taste, cover and bake 350 degrees for 1 hour then remove cover and bake till chicken is soft, brown and rice is done. There is no exact recipe for this because it depends how much chicken you use. If I have a lot of chicken I will use more rice. This is to die for . Use enough spices. Good luck (03/09/2006)
By Sylvia
RE: Recipes Using Chicken Quarters
I usually add a bunch of spices. Salt, pepper and almost everything in my cupboard! I put the chicken in a glass baking dish and add beer. Bake for a while with foil over the top to keep in the moisture. I usually take the foil off for the last half of cooking to make the outside a little crispy. Mmmm. The beer adds a really good flavor. (03/10/2006)
My favorite method to cook chicken pieces is to barbecue them on a grill. (actually that's my favorite way to cook just about anything small). I mix up a sauce of beer, cidar vinegar, sauteed chopped onion, crushed garlic. ground black and hot red pepper, honey, prepared mustard, a little ketchup and hot sauce to taste. The sauce should be thin. Parboil chicken quarters briefly in sauce, a bit longer for white meat, and grill over hot coals and soaked, drained wood chips of your choice (any combination of fruit wood, hickory, mesquite, etc. works well). Continue to simmer sauce and dip chicken in it when turning (I turn pieces pretty often to keep them from burning). The sauce cooks down so I adjust the seasoning and serve it on the side for dipping. Most recipes I've seen along these lines say to discard the cooking sauce but I don't see the point in that. I just continue to let it simmer until taking up the chicken, and I haven't caught mad cowbird flu disease yet. (Haven't caught salmonella either but I've never tried this with salmon.)
,P>
One stovetop trick is something an elderly friend from the SC coast used to prepare. He called it "purlo"... not sure how he'd have spelled it. He just put white rice in his rice pot with water as usual, then mixed cut up (bone-in) chicken, salt & black pepper, covered and cooked rice as he normally would. I've tried several variations on this, such as using V-8 juice, canned chopped tomatoes, chicken stock, etc. instead of water, and different herbs & spices as my mood dictates. Also I usually debone the chicken but cook large bones in the pot as well. They'll be easier to remove from the pot when done and you still get the added flavor and nutrients from the bones. Happy cooking! (03/20/2006)
Alph, I love your sense of humor! I often say similar "silly" things and it just annoys the dickens out of "serious" folks. Keep on keepin' on! We all need to laugh more! (03/20/2006)
By Grandma Margie
RE: Recipes Using Chicken Quarters
I usually season the quarters with spices like paprika or sazon ,adobe all purpose seasoning, etc and bake it. I normally serve it with rice or bake potato (03/25/2007)
