An important part of cooking is variety, whether you’re cooking for one or a whole family, you can’t eat the same thing every night. However, a few factors work against that. Firstly, time budget, in as much as you only have so much time to cook a meal. Secondly, financial budget, when you shop for the week you only have so much money to deal with, so those fancy dinners don’t happen every night. You have to get creative with how you cook the same dish, changing some of the ingredients to make it different. Check this post for an example And, the way you cook it will also break the monotony. And that’s what this post is all about. Skillet chicken quarters with potatoes and brussels, it could be a boring dinner, but in the skillet, the vegetables are roasted and the chicken has the crispy skin. It looks and tastes delicious. Cast iron has the ability to make boring, well, interesting, read on to learn more.
The Why
Chicken is an important part of most peoples diets these days. Healthier than beef in many ways, but the big problem with chicken is there are only so many cuts of meat. Although a steer has only 8 “primal” cuts of meat, that can produce about 30 different “retail” cuts of meat. A chicken doesn’t even come close. A chicken can be broken down into 12 cuts of meat. So, it’s not “what” you cook but “how” you cook it, that becomes more important. You can cut it up, leave it whole, cook it on the stovetop or bake it. There are many different combinations. One of my favorite methods is the cast iron skillet. read this to learn more about cast iron. I love the sear, and the ability to cook on the stovetop and in the oven. This fits into my “time budget” because when it’s in the oven I don’t have to do anything to it, and my “financial budget” because it’s a cheaper dinner. Also, when cooking the meal this way, the roasted vegetables come out sweet, creamy and, most importantly, healthy.
The Prep
This post is part of my cooking for one series, you can modify the ingredients list to feed more people. The local store had whole chicken on sale, so I bought one. Obviously I’m not going to eat a whole chicken for dinner. So I cut it up into it’s different cuts, and froze it. Two split breasts, two legs and thighs, wings and back (I save the back for chicken soup, read this for more info). Please read this for more insights. Tonight I’m going to cook the legs and thigh quarters. With that I’ll cook 1 russet potato and 8oz of brussels sprouts. The secret to crispy chicken skin is to make sure it’s dry, So, dry the skin and sprinkle with salt. Handling raw meat can be dangerous, please read this about safe food prep. Cut up the potato into rough cubes about 1″ TO 1 1/2″ size. Prep the brussels and cut them in half. 2-3 cloves of garlic, peeled, but left whole, when garlic is cooked it becomes soft, sweet and delicious. That’s it for prep
The Cook
Now to cook. When cooking, timing is everything, there are a few steps here, I follow this sequence so everything is ready at the same time, and pass it on as a guide. While prepping the chicken and vegetables, put the skillet in the oven and heat to 375. Put some water in a pot, add the potatoes and bring to a boil, when boiling set a kitchen timer for 10 minutes. Put the skillet on the stovetop over a medium heat, add 1 tablespoon of oil and lay the legs and thighs skin side down, cover to avoid splatter and wait for the timer to go off. Now, drain the potatoes, remove the chicken from the skillet, and set aside. Put the potatoes, brussels and garlic in the skillet and mix well, lay the chicken skin side up on the vegetables and put in the oven. About a half hour should be fine, check the chicken (165 degrees), and the vegetables should be done. That’s it skillet chicken quarters with potatoes and brussels. Easy prep, easy cook and cleanup is a breeze. Thank you for reading and enjoy dinner.