A different way of serving chicken, quite quick to prepare and a total winner both for a family meal or for a nice dinner with friends.
Ingredients:
6 oyster thighs (you could use drumsticks, or even chicken breast, but I feel the oyster thighs are the most flavoursome part of the chicken)
12 smoked rashers or pancetta or bacon
1/2 a tub of dijon mustard
1/2 a tub of any other mustard (grainy mustard works well)
1/2 a tub of dry sage
A few tsps of cayenne pepper
2 slugs of vegetable oil
Method:
Prepare the chicken a few hours before, or the night before
Leave the bone in the thighs, but remove the skin if you buy those with the skin on
Use a sharp knife and make 3 diagonal deep cuts (but not all the way through) across the top part of each piece
Prepare your spices, mustards and bacon right in front of you
Sprinkle a little of cayenne pepper on the top part of a piece, and spread it well using your hands
Sprinkle a good tsp of dry sage over that and massage it well
Turn the piece around, then sprinkle another tsp of dry sage on the piece and massage it well
Choose the nicest of the 2 mustards, and spread a full tsp on the inner side of the piece, massaging it well
Turn the piece with the side of the cuts up, spread a full tsp of the other mustard over it and massage it well
Place the two slices of bacon across that side, then wrap it around the piece, with the two ends joining on the inner side - leave them loose, just pat shut
Repeat for all the pieces
Put the prepared chicken in a bowl of any material but not metal, and cover it tight with cling film
Leave it to rest in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours or overnight
Select a baking tray or a heavy pot that can go in the oven just big enough to accomodate the prepared chicken in a single layer
Put your 2 slugs of oil at the bottom of your tray (spread it well), then lay down your chicken pieces evenly keeping the bacon ends nice and tight under each piece
Cover your tray with tin foil, or use your lid if you were using a pot
Cook in a preheated oven at 200 degrees C (fan) for 25 minutes
Remove the lid or the tinfoil, and continue to cook for a further 15 mins
Serve it nice and hot with a potato mash or a broccoli mash