I tried from every angle - I really did! - but it was truly difficult to come up with a lovely photo of what is essentially a completely beige and boring looking dish. Which is unfortunate, because this recipe yielded one of the best pieces of chicken that I have eaten in a long time and was incredibly easy and hands off to execute.
I tend to avoid chicken legs because I find the bone a bit of a hassle to deal with despite the fact that it does impart added flavor but, in the case of this recipe, the meat falls right off the bone and it is just so delectable and tender. You can either remove the skin after cooking and just eat the delicious meat as is, or you can heat a pan until it is really hot, add a couple of teaspoons of the poaching oil, and finish the chicken (skin side down) for a couple of minutes until the skin is crispy. Either way - yum, yum, yum.
4 chicken legs
peel from 1 orange or tangerine
peel from 2 lemons
1 bunch thyme
1 bunch sage
1 head garlic
Olive oil to cover ( a couple of cups worth)
Salt
Remove the chicken from the fridge. Salt well on allsides and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 275.
Line the bottom of an oven safe dish just large enough to hold your chickne legs in one layer with the sprigs of sage and thyme. Cut the head of garlic in half, break it into chunks and strew the pieces over the herbs without peeling the halved cloves. Use a vegetable peeler to remove long strips of zest from the citrus and distribute those over the herbs and garlic.
Add the chicken legs to the dish. Nestle them in together and cover them with olive oil until they are just submerged.
Cover the dish and place in the oven. Bake for 3 hours without disturbing it.
Turn off the heat and let sit for 30 minutes before eating.
Strain the oil through a coffee filter or cheesecloth, pressing down well on the solids, and reserve for other uses like hash brown potatoes.
Inspiration recipe, here.
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