I bought some huge chicken thighs recently. I wanted two things from them. The chicken skin separated from the thigh meat and the thigh meat. I had eight thighs to start with. I pulled all the skin and vacuum sealed that. I then packaged four thighs in two vacuum seal packages. All into the freezer until I was ready to start my madness.
I pulled the package of skin and one of the packages of thighs. Into the SV pool they went. 147 degrees for about three hours. I wanted to render all the fat/schmaltz from the skin, while prepping the thighs for a chicken salad casserole. I really hated to get rid of that good schmaltz, but I didn't have any place to store it.
The first picture is the de-schmaltzed chicken skin ready for a three day soak in a combination of buttermilk and sriracha sauce.
The second picture is the pretty “pink” buttermilk”.
The third picture is my version of a Hot Chicken Salad Casserole.
The “terribly tender” chicken thigh meat and the Savor All really brought the texture and flavors together. This will be great re-heated.
Here is the recipe. Enjoy!
Hot Chicken Salad Casserole
Recipe By: Art Wiesemann
Serving Size: 8
Ingredients:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 soup can dry white wine (I used a Pinot Grigio)
1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese
1 tablespoon Savor All
4 cups diced cooked chicken
1/2 cup minced celery
1/3 cup finely minced onion
1/3 cup green onion, sliced
French Fried Onions for topping
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 13 x 9 inch baking dish. In a bowl combine the mayonnaise and soup; blend well. Stir in the Savor All. Add the chicken, celery, onion, and green onion; mix. Taste and adjust seasonings, adding salt only as needed, then transfer to prepared baking dish. Bake 20 minutes until hot and bubbly. Remove from oven, add topping, and bake an additional 5 minutes. Can also add toppings at the beginning cooking time if desired.
Oh, I almost forgot. I will be deep frying the chicken skin this weekend. Tee and I had this at his birthday dinner back in December. I hope mine comes out as good as the restaurant's version. I'll report later.
Art
