I have made PIA (pain in the pants) chicken before. It is a lot of work. However, I have this defective gene that wants to make food as tasty as I can. I just can’t help making food the best I can regardless of the work.
So, when I made up my Cajun Seasonings recipe and wanted to make chicken thighs using it, I had to go to the PIA method.
I started by taking the skin off four chicken thighs. Using a very sharp knife, I scraped the fat off the skin by holding the knife at a sharp angle and carefully removing the fat. You will have to clean the blade often as fat will coat it and make it difficult to remove the fat.
I generously sprinkled my Cajun Seasoning over the chicken thigh, wrapped the skin around it and then applied another layer of Cajun Seasoning over the skin. You can use a commercial Cajun seasoning mix if you’d like.
I put ¼ inch of vegetable oil and ¼ inch of melted butter in a roasting pan. I added a teaspoon of Tabasco sauce and mixed.
Put the chicken skin side down in the mixture and cover the roasting pan with foil. I put the pan in my Traeger Timberline at 250 F (120 C) for 45 minutes.
While the chicken is cooking, I mixed 8 ml (1 1/2 teaspoon) of Cajun seasoning into 150 ml (2/3 cup) barbecue sauce.
I turned the chicken in the pan to coat with the butter mixture and put it skin side up on the rack of the smoker. I smoked for about 45 minutes more to an internal temperature of 175 F (80 C).
I put each thigh in the sauce and turned it to coat. I put the thighs back in the smoker for 10 to 15 minutes to set the sauce.
Let the chicken set for 5 minutes and serve.
The Verdict
This is a great chicken thigh. The Cajun spices give it a touch of heat and a great complexity. You know the work of scraping the skin is worth it when you take that first bite and the skin remains attached to the thigh and it just adds to the great flavour and texture of the chicken.
The Old Fat Guy
Ingredients
- 4 chicken thighs
- 40 ml (3 tbsp) Cajun Seasoning
- 50 ml (1/4 cup) vegetable oil
- 5o ml (1/4 cup) melted butter
- 5 ml (1 teaspoon) Tabasco Sauce
- 8 ml (1 1/2 teaspoon) Cajun Seasoning
- 150 ml (2/3 cup) barbecue sauce
Instructions
- Remove skin from thighs. Scrape the fat off the skin.
- Sprinkle the skinned thighs with Cajun seasoning.
- Wrap the skin around the thigh and sprinkle with Cajun seasoning.
- Put the oil and butter in a small roasting pan.
- Put the chicken in the pan, skin side down. Cover the pan with foil and put it in a 250 F (120 C) smoker for 45 minutes.
- Mix 8 ml (1 1/2 tsp) of Cajun seasoning with the barbecue sauce.
- Turn the chicken in the butter mixture and put it on the rack of the smoker. Smoke for about 45 minutes to an internal temperature of 175 F (80 C).
- Put each thigh in the barbecue sauce mixture and turn to coat.
- Smoke for 10 to 15 minutes longer to set the sauce.
- Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before serving.
