Hot Thighs

Hey friends, I have an easy and delicious recipe for y’all this week. I can’t take credit for this one because I didn’t actually come up with it but it’s probably one of my personal favorites. Today were talking about Hot Thighs. I was shown how to make this as a teenager just when my love of all things cooking was just starting to come about. We lived in Colorado and one of my mom’s friends had us over for dinner. They had the grill fired up and the smells coming from it were simply divine. CE was cooking on the grill and was nice enough to tell me the secret is soaking the thighs in hot sauce overnight, but that’s probably also the hardest part of the whole recipe. He was right; I have tried cooking them before they marinated all the way and it’s just not the same. I hope he’s smiling down knowing that he influenced me and pushed me in the right direction as a young person.

I actually used this recipe as a final for my internship. It was a timed three course meal that had to have a grilled, roasted, fried, and creamy component in the meal. The chef gave me an hour to get the entire meal done. If I remember correctly, this was fifteen years ago, the chef loved it so much they put it on the menu as a special for a week. My dish was a grilled hot thigh with beer battered celery sticks, and that’s where I learned if your cooking celery you need to peel the hair of the back.  

The actual recipe he gave me back then is literally to marinate boneless skinless chicken thighs in Franks hot sauce overnight or as long as you want. He said not to do leave the chicken in the hot sauce for more than a few days because the hot sauce starts to break down the chicken almost like its being cooked. Then you just grill the chicken on both sides until it’s cooked all the way through. I would guess it’s probably 7 minutes on each side. The celery sticks, I peel the back of the arch with the weird hair strands, pat them dry with a towel and make the batter. I used 2 cups AP flour and country bobs seasoning but any seasoning salt will work and a half a can of whatever beer you have on hand, or you can use sparkling water. It does the same thing but the beer give the batter a better flavor when fried. Once your celery is coated fry them in canola oil for about three minutes or until they’re golden brown and looking delicious. Salt them as soon as they come out of the frier and if you like a dipping sauce either make a quick ranch or if you have your favorite from the store. A quick ranch recipe is 1 cup mayonnaise ½ cup sour cream ¼ cup buttermilk or milk and 1 teaspoon lemon juice 1 teaspoon of garlic salt, dried parsley, dried dill, dried chives, 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar and a pinch of salt and white pepper. Just mix with a fork until completely combined and it’ll be good to go. The longer you let it sit before use the more the flavors marry together.

Well friends’ thanks for reading this week’s blog. I hope Hot Thighs become one of the favorites in your family as well. As always if you have any comments, ideas for recipes, concerns, or just want to say hi. Please send a comment in the box right under the blog. Be blessed!!