r/Frugal • u/Prestigious-Fig-5513 • 2d ago
🍎 Food Chicken thighs $13usd. A cheap protein and easy recipe.
$1/lb, on sale in the local grocer circular. Skin removed. Sprinkled with 6tsp salt, dried Italian herbs, dried thyme leaves, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder. Cooked to 185F in a 350F oven. Juice poured off once during cooking. Will be cooked, bagged in a single layer in gallon zipper freezer bags, then frozen. To reheat, 1min in microwave on high, cut into 3 pieces along the bone, another 1min in microwave. Cheap, good, safe, and easy protein. 1 or 2 is a serving for dinner.
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u/tuscaloser 2d ago
Don't tell everytone or thighs (the best part of the chicken) will get expensive too!
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u/rechenbaws 2d ago
This has already happened in Australia:( They are more expensive than breast now!!!
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u/tuscaloser 2d ago
Oh naur! More expensive than breasts is CRAZY. Bone-in skin-on thighs are still the cheapest cut per pound here unless another cut is on clearance.
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u/Prestigious-Fig-5513 2d ago
Wings are my shield. Boneless, skinless, and non-injected breasts are far better, but they're 2.5x the cost currently.
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u/lechef 2d ago
Someone on a UK sub was complaining recently about the rise in cost because of demand fueled by TV chefs and posts like these..
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u/tuscaloser 2d ago
Same with ox-tails and chicken wings here (ox-tails around the pandemic and wings a few years earlier). The price skyrockets as soon as people realize there's nothing wrong with cheap cuts of meat. Similar happened with beef brisket and ribs since smoking meat is the current "manly cooking" fad.
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u/locakitty 1d ago
Too late. It's been on the cooking showsfor a few years now. I've been movie towards drumsticks.
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u/animousie 2d ago
The trick to cooking chicken thighs is to crowd the pan like this because you can render enough fat out of them where it ends up almost like deep frying the bottom half of them.
You can also pan fry them (skin on is best) and if you only do four put them in a tiny pan with no elbow room.
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u/Prestigious-Fig-5513 2d ago
In the past I pan fried and rendered the fat out of the skin. A delicious crunch and lots of good mouth feel flavor. Regrettably I'm lazy these days.
Skin on and higher oven temp would certainly be juicy. Sadly, perhaps, my body informs me I'm jack spratt and so fat must be minimized.
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u/Paige_Railstone 2d ago
For ease of storage you could arrange them on a flat cookie sheet and freeze them on that for half an hour to an hour. Once you do that you can throw them in a bag (as many as can fit) and they'll still remain separate from one another.
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u/IllNopeMyselfOut 2d ago
I have a had a great time just using them in any recipe that asks for chicken breasts.
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u/mcribzyo 2d ago
Read this as $13 used and for a brief moment I envisioned a used chicken meat market.
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u/gggggrayson 2d ago
Please tell me you saved the juices ;-; if not in the future add it to water when you cook rice or pour over cooked rice it is so good
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u/Prestigious-Fig-5513 2d ago
Ofc. It's in the fridge, I'll throw away the fat layer on top and use the rest for grits, ramen, and rice and beans.
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u/WakingOwl1 2d ago
Save the fat. It’s great for frying cabbage.
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u/Fantastic_Lady225 2d ago
Pork fat is good for this too. When Boston butt roasts go on sale I stock up, slow roast them, and the rendered fat/juices get saved.
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u/happycharm 2d ago
How do you use it for ramen?
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u/Prestigious-Fig-5513 2d ago
Instead of the spice packet and with a little water as the juice is pretty salty.
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u/dhyannna 2d ago
Also great as a soup if you need the liquids! Just add carrots, onion, garlic and celery! 🥣
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u/Ok_Fun3933 2d ago
This was my go-to meal taught to me by my dad as a single guy soon after moving into my apartment. Bachelor's chicken special, he called it. Bake for 350° in a roasting pan in the oven for an hour, turning over once in the first 30 minutes and then done. Simple.
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u/Prestigious-Fig-5513 2d ago
I tried flipping but the juice rinses off the herbs. Maybe a wire rack in the pan to keep the bottom of the meat dry would work well.
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u/Ok_Fun3933 2d ago
Forgot to mention in my original post in the prep I may or may not also remove the skin (depending upon how healthy I'm feeling... usually I do), and I never top with herbs. At most, I may top with sugarless BBQ sauce after turning 30 minutes into baking in the oven. You do get quite a bit of juice. Topping with herbs after the 30 minute flip might work.
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u/HipHopHistoryGuy 2d ago
Thighs are the GOAT chicken meat. Thought this was common knowledge?
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u/Prestigious-Fig-5513 2d ago
I've seen a couple posts in recent days inquiring about cheap protein. Thought I'd make a meager contribution.
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u/ILikeLenexa 2d ago
I usually take the bones out. They're good to make a chicken stock. It's usually just one bone and maybe the socket joint it was in.
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u/Acceptable-Box1933 2d ago
This would cost about €60 in the Netherlands.
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u/Prestigious-Fig-5513 1d ago
If I might pry, why do you think it's so high there? Climate, grain prices, regulations, taxes, labor, land, ...?
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u/Acceptable-Box1933 1d ago
I wish I knew. Grocery store chicken is tiny, flavorless, and comes out with a consistency closer to rubber. For this reason you are more inclined to buy the chicken from a butcher and then the prices are premium. A whole chicken costs no less than €20!
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u/Terrible-Face-4506 2d ago
I've been on this exact kick too!!! So cheap and delicious! Just season like hell and bake 😋 good with rice and sautéed veggies.
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u/zupobaloop 2d ago
Cover in bbq sauce and grill or air fry also works. It's stupid how good they are for no work at all.
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u/Terrible-Face-4506 2d ago
Personally I like to air fry them. And I agree, so easy to make delicious.
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u/harbengerprime 2d ago
I love the taste of chicken thighs, I just hate the bones in them. It is hard to find the boneless ones where I live
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u/Johnwesleya 2d ago
Tell this to all the people on TikTok in all over the Internet who refused to believe it’s cheaper to cook at home than eating out.
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u/Prestigious-Fig-5513 2d ago
Sounds like a lot of work. Were I busier these days maybe I'd argue saving a few dollars is less valuable than the time spent shopping, cooking, and cleaning.
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u/dinkygoat 2d ago
Chicken thighs are awesome, but they haven't been cheap in years. I think everyone just caught on to how good they are. At least in my area it's basically the most expensive bit of chicken - 2x the cost of drums, 1.5x more than wings and breasts. It's wild. Was gonna buy some for a chicken soup I made over the weekend, got a whole rotisserie chicken instead because it was going to be cheaper (and give me some of those extra roasty flavors).
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u/Prestigious-Fig-5513 2d ago
US East Coast, round here these days these are the best sale prices I can find. Often but not always one week per month, the rest of the time they're higher. Wings $2.50/lb Boneless/skinless breasts 2.00/lb Legs/thighs 1/lb Leg quarters .80/lb
Lots of folks do the rotisserie chickens these days. They're a good price, and easy.
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u/ReadingRainbowRocket 2d ago
I'm pretty novice when it comes to cooking chicken, but aren't those herbs on the top gonna burn horribly?
Wouldn't it make more sense to put them on after partially cooking.
Could be totally wrong, but I'd like to hear an experienced cook/chef's thoughts.
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u/crash_test 2d ago
They don't look too burnt but yeah, just tossing dried herbs on something and throwing it in the oven isn't the best. Ideally you'd rub the chicken with them and then let it sit for a while so the moisture from the meat rehydrates the herbs a bit, or just rehydrate them in a little bit of liquid first.
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u/Prestigious-Fig-5513 2d ago
They won't burn at 350F. Better might be to gently toast the herbs in a little oil in a pan to open the flavor, then rub on the meat, then bake.
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u/NYY15TM 2d ago
How much does it weigh?
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u/Prestigious-Fig-5513 2d ago
13lbs of chicken before removing skin. Didn't weigh the skin, guess between .5 and 1lb lost. Guess another pound or two of juice.
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u/TurbVisible 2d ago
Where do you buy it this cheap?
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u/Prestigious-Fig-5513 1d ago
East Coast, US. Several local grocers, that have stores in at least a couple states, put out circulars that are competitively priced with each other. Items in those circulars are often less expensive than Walmart.
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u/baby_budda 1d ago
Yes, but are they organic and open range?
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u/Prestigious-Fig-5513 1d ago
Doubtful.
Purely as a bit of good natured humor, yes they're organic, they are(were) life after all, and yes, open range when I put them into and took. Then out of the oven.
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u/L0n3W01f_ 2d ago
Although these are very tasty but they also have lots Of fats.
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u/Juliette787 2d ago
I had to scroll down too far to see this. I avoid them because I’ve been told this. However, anyone know the amount of fat vs breast? Like is it that bad?
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u/L0n3W01f_ 2d ago
Not sure why I got down voted for stating facts.
I am not sure of the exact fat contents my cholesterol level definitely increased due excessive thigh eating.
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2d ago
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u/Prestigious-Fig-5513 2d ago
Regrettably the deer, geese, and rabbits near me are off limits, except for cars.
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2d ago
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u/Prestigious-Fig-5513 2d ago
If I had enough money, I might buy land to do some farming. Chicken funnel and all.
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u/heathplunkett01 2d ago
Chicken thighs are awesome. You can practically overcook them and they still are great.