Breadcrumb the chicken thighs in advance for a speedy cooking process
Diana Henry The Telegraph's award-winning cookery writer
Diana Henry is the Telegraph’s much-loved cookery writer. She shares recipes each week, for everything from speedy family dinners to special menus that friends will remember for months. She is also a regular broadcaster on BBC Radio 4, and her journalism and recipe books, including Simple and How to Eat a Peach, are multi-award-winning. A mother of two sons, Diana can satisfy even the fussiest of eaters.
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Breadcrumbed thighs are less hassle than battered, and you can prepare them in advance – just bring them out of the fridge before you want to cook them, otherwise they’ll take longer. Each coating layer needs to be seasoned – the flour, eggs and breadcrumbs. If the thighs are big you may need to halve them before putting them into the buns. Offer ketchup, corn salsa, mustard – whatever extras you want – on the side.
It’s best to put someone else on bun duty, so you can focus on cooking the chicken while they’re doing the toasting.
Requires minimum 2 hours marinating time.
Overview
Prep time
20 mins
Cook time
8 mins
Serves
6
Ingredients
- 6 chicken thigh fillets, skin removed
- 300ml milk
- 200ml yogurt
- 2 garlic cloves, grated to a purée
- ¼-½ tsp cayenne pepper
- 100g plain flour, seasoned with salt and pepper and ¼ tsp cayenne
- 3 eggs, lightly beaten and seasoned
- 350g dry breadcrumbs, seasoned
- 700ml groundnut oil, for frying (350ml for each pan)
- 6 brioche burger buns
- 1 head romaine lettuce, leaves separated and torn
- 2 plum tomatoes, sliced
- sweet pickled cucumber, sliced, to serve
For the sauce
- 250g mayonnaise
- 2 tsp ketchup
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp onion granules
- 3 tsp pickle juice from the jar of pickled cucumbers (which you will use in the burger)
- 1 tsp Tabasco (or add to taste)
- ½ tsp English mustard (or add to taste)
Method
Step
Lay 6 chicken thighs flat on a piece of greaseproof paper or baking parchment. Cover with another piece of the paper. Bash the thighs using a rolling pin to flatten them as boned chicken thighs are uneven in thickness.
Step
Mix together 300ml milk, 200ml yogurt, 2 grated garlic cloves and ¼-½ tsp cayenne. Put the thighs into a dish that can go into the fridge. Pour the marinade over them, cover with cling film and put it in the fridge, turning the chicken every so often. The chicken can be marinated for a couple of hours, or you can leave it overnight.
Step
Make the sauce simply by mixing everything together. It really does have to be adjusted to personal taste, so add only as much Tabasco and mustard as you want. You won’t need any seasoning.
Step
Put 100g seasoned flour, 3 lightly beaten eggs and 350g seasoned breadcrumbs into separate dishes. Gently shake the marinade off each thigh and season them all over. Dip each piece of chicken into the flour, then the eggs and then the breadcrumbs. As each thigh is ready, put them on to a tray or baking sheet.
Step
Lay out a double layer of kitchen paper.
Step
Divide 700ml groundnut oil between 2 sauté pans, or 2 saucepans (you need something that’s about 25cm across, and a frying pan is too shallow for this). Heat it. When you can throw a few breadcrumbs into the oil and it sizzles and turns the breadcrumbs golden, the oil is hot enough.
Step
Carefully cook 3 thighs in each pan, 4 minutes on each side. Transfer the thighs to the paper when they’re done. To check that they’re ready, cut into the centre of one piece – there shouldn’t be any pink juices.
Step
Halve and toast 6 brioche burger buns. Spread some of the special sauce on the bottom half of each one, then add some of the leaves of 1 romaine lettuce head, chicken, 2 sliced tomatoes and sweet pickles. Spread the sauce on the buns for the top and put them in place. Serve immediately with plenty of paper napkins.