As a working mom I am incredibly fond of easy make, easy clean up meals. While I wish I could spend 5 hours making dinner every night, with fantastic results, I usually only have about an hour MAX to throw toward my favorite meal of the day. And this recipe was so easy, and had so little hands-on time, it may become a new mid-week staple at our house. Hey, if it’s good enough for Link, it’s good enough for me!
Prime Poultry Pilaf
Start by taking the chicken out of the fridge about 10 minutes before you cook it. Frankly, as a microbiologist, I cannot condone taking chicken out any earlier than that. If you wanna know how I feel about poultry, as a microbiologist, find me on the twitter or the instagram… But we do want to take the chill off the chicken before we cook it. So 10 minutes is probably good.
Now here’s the normal drill: pat the chicken dry with a paper towel, rub with spices, and get ready for the most chill and delicious meal I’ve posted in a long, llloonnngggg time.
First and foremost, the easiest way to make this recipe is with a pan that can be used both on the stove and in the oven. Cast iron, enameled cast iron, even some stainless steel pans can be used on the stove and in the oven. I use an enameled cast iron pan for this and it made both making it and cleaning up a piece of cake. If you don’t have anything that’ll work for both simply use a pan on the stove for the first part and we will get to the second part later. But if you can possibly invest in an enameled cast iron braiser or pan, trust me, it’s worth it.
Second and secondmost, you’ll want to use a long grain, non-sticky rice for this recipe. While I pledge my heart and soul to calrose sushi rice it simply doesn’t work for rice pilaf. Jasmine rice or even long grain brown rice would work really well in this particular recipe.
Heat the oil in your chosen pan on medium. When the oil is hot gently add the chicken by laying it away from you to prevent splashes. Cook for 2-3 minutes, depending on the thickness of the thigh. Turn the chicken and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Using the side of your pan, lay the thighs up on each side for 1-2 minutes to sear in all the liquid. You can do this by leaning them against each other and the side of the pan, then switching sides and repeating until all 6 sides (4 edges, 2 big sides) are seared. Remove the chicken from the pan and place on a plate.
Add the chopped onion to the oil in the pan and cook until it begins to sweat, about 2-3 minutes. At that point add the orzo pasta and continue stirring and cooking until the pasta begins to change color to a light brown, about 2 minutes. Add the rice and cook until the rice is glistening, about 2-3 minutes. Add about 1/4-1/3 cup of the chicken stock and scrape hard at the bottom of the pan to deglaze it. This will ensure all the delicious flavor (called fond) stuck at the bottom will be in your broth. Add the remaining chicken stock and spices and stir. Heat until simmering, stirring periodically.
Once the liquid is simmering gently lay the chicken on top of the rice mixture. You want the chicken to rest on top of the rice, so gently is the key here. Place the lid on the pan and put in the oven. Bake for 30 minutes. If you’re one of the poor, unfortunate souls (in pain, in need) who doesn’t have a pan that can transition between the stove and the oven oil an oven-safe pan that has a lid and transfer the liquid and rice to the pan. Lay the chicken on top of the rice, cover, and place in the oven to bake. This method may take 35-40 minutes to cook, because the pan isn’t hot going into the oven. But don’t check the rice until 30 minutes. At that point, if there is still liquid left, simply bake uncovered for 5-10 minutes until the liquid is gone.
While the rice is cooking scramble an egg or two. It’s as easy as heating up a small pan with the butter, adding two eggs, and pushing the eggs around until they’re set but not overcooked. You got this.
After 30 minutes open the lid and check the rice for done-ness. There should be no more liquid remaining and the rice should be nice and fluffy. If you are worried about the chicken being cooked all the way through simply test it using an instant read thermometer. The thighs should be at 165°F. Add the eggs to the rice, mix, and fluff. Serve with a side of veggies and enjoy!
Link’s Prime Poultry Pilaf recipe:
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- Raw Bird Thigh
- Hylian Rice
- Bird Egg
- Goat Butter
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Prime Poultry Pilaf
One-pot chicken thighs with rice pilaf
Chicken
- 5 chicken thighs, can be with or without bones
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 2 teaspoons garlic salt
- 1.5 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Rice
- 1 small onion
- 1/4 cup orzo pasta
- 1 3/4 cup long grain rice, such as Jasmine rice
- 3.5 cups chicken stock
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons ground mustard
Directions
- Pre-heat the oven to 350°F.
- Take the chicken out of the fridge about 10 minutes before you cook it.
- Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel and rub with the spice rub.
- Heat the oil in a cast iron pan, or any pan that can be placed in the oven with a lid.
- When the oil is hot gently add the chicken by laying it away from you to prevent splashes. Cook for 2-3 minutes, depending on the thickness of the thigh. Turn the chicken and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Using the side of your pan, lay the thighs up on each side for 1-2 minutes to sear in all the liquid. You can do this by leaning them against each other and the side of the pan, then switching sides and repeating until all 6 sides (4 edges, 2 big sides) are seared. Remove the chicken from the pan and place on a plate.
- Add the chopped onion to the oil in the pan and cook until it begins to sweat, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the orzo pasta and continue stirring and cooking until the pasta begins to change color to a light brown, about 2 minutes.
- Add the rice and cook until the rice is glistening, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add about 1/4-1/3 cup of the chicken stock and scrape hard at the bottom of the pan to deglaze it. Add the remaining chicken stock and spices and stir. Heat until simmering, stirring periodically.
- Once the liquid is simmering gently lay the chicken on top of the rice mixture. Place the lid on the pan and put in the oven.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
- While the rice is cooking heat up a small pan with the butter. When the butter begins bubbling add the two eggs and cook, stirring continually until they’re set but not overcooked.
- After 30 minutes open the lid and check the rice for done-ness. There should be no more liquid remaining and the rice should be nice and fluffy. If you are worried about the chicken being cooked all the way through simply test it using an instant read thermometer. The thighs should be at 165°F. Serve with a side of veggies and enjoy!
Sheikah Plate 
i made this and OH MY GOODNESS THIS WAS AMMAZZINGGG!!!! My family LOVED it and the chicken was super tasty!! thank you for these recipes!! 🙂
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Hey, what do we do with the eggs?
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I’m so sorry- I just saw this. In step 12 it lists scrambling the eggs in a little butter then mixing them into the completed dish once everything is finished!
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As someone who also generally has only an hour or so to cook dinner, I appreciate a good easy recipe! Anything more complicated and I’m generally snacking before dinner is done. 😅
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Right? There’s so little time during weekdays. This one is perfect, then. About 20 minutes hands on, tops, then into the oven for 30 and it’s delicious!
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