Cuban Sandwich Style Chicken Thighs

Time: 1 hour

Serves: 2 people

Ingredients:

• 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, see notes
• 4 tbsp yellow mustard
• Dill pickle slices
• 4 slices ham
• 4 slices Swiss cheese
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• Fries or chips, to serve on the side if desired

Directions: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees on convection if you can and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. Now you can prep the chicken. Remove the chicken thighs from the packaging and place on a cutting board skin side up. Gently separate the skin from the thigh to create a pocket, being careful not to separate the skin completely so it flaps over or poke holes.

Next, stuff the chicken thighs with the Cuban sandwich ingredients. Start with a layer of mustard followed by the pickles, a slice of ham, and a slice of cheese. Depending on the size of your chicken thighs, you might need to fold the ham and cheese to fit accordingly. Once everything is stuffed between the chicken and skin, smooth the skin back over and season both the bottom of the thigh and the skin with salt and pepper. Place on the baking sheet and place in the oven. The thighs should cook for about 45 minutes but that will be dependent on their size. You’ll want the thighs to reach a temperature of at least 180 so ensure they’re nice and tender. Keep an eye on them during the cooking process to make sure the skin doesn’t brown too deeply. If you need to add more color at the end of the cooking process, you can place the thighs under your broiler, keeping watch as the skin will crispy quickly.

Let cool for a few minutes and then serve with either fries or chips on the side.

Notes: The first time I made this recipe, we kept the bones in the thighs but I think the next time I make this, I’ll try to debone the thighs which will make the chicken easier to eat with the skin stuffed as it is. Of course, this is a bit of a pain but it would allow you to cut through the thigh entirely, creating a nice bite, and not have to break it apart and eat around the bone. If you can find boneless thighs that still have the skin on, bless you and please tell me where they are!