This recipe for Figgy Piggy Drumsticks and Thighs is from the cookbook, In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite, by Melissa Clark.
Clark’s story preceding this recipe tells of how she was determined to follow a magazine recipe as written but, try as she might, ended up with her own version instead.
Author Melissa Clark writes:
I scattered the bacon and garlic on top of the dish and took a bite. The first note to hit was the brawniness of the bacon, followed by the jamlike figs softening the pungent, crisp garlic and meaty chicken. As Gourmet promised, it was a figgy, piggy delight slightly streamlined according to me.
Figgy Piggy Drumsticks and Thighs Photo credit: Matthew Benson
Figgy, Piggy Drumsticks and Thighs
Featured Recipe From: In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite: 150 Recipes & Stories about the Food You Love
Yield: Serves 4
Total Time: 40 Minutes
Ingredients:
- 8 strips bacon (8 ounces), halved
- 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 3 chicken legs, drumsticks and thighs (about 2 1/2 pounds total)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 11 or 12 figs, halved or quartered if large
- 12 thyme sprigs
- 2 tablespoons vermouth
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 500°F. In a large ovenproof skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon until crisp. Transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain, but don't drain the fat from the skillet. Add the garlic to the skillet and saute for 1 minute or so, until the slices are pale golden. Transfer them to the plate along with the bacon.
2. Rinse the chicken legs and pat them dry with a paper towel. Season the chicken with the salt and pepper. Raise the heat under the skillet to medium-high until the fat begins to smoke, and cook the chicken until browned, 5 to 6 minutes. Flip the chicken and brown the other side, about 3 minutes.
3. Scatter the figs and thyme over the chicken and transfer the skillet to the oven. Roast until the chicken is cooked through, about 20 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a serving platter, and stir the vermouth and lemon juice into the skillet, scraping up any brown bits on the bottom (be careful when touching the skillet handle; it will be hot). Place the skillet over medium heat until the juices thicken, about 3 minutes. Pour the juices over the chicken, garnish with bacon and garlic, and serve.
© 2010 Melissa Clark, Inc.
Reprinted with permission from In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite: 150 Recipes and Stories about the Food You Love, by Melissa Clark (Hyperion)
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