Chicken Marylands with Lentils

Words travel. So do cuts of meat.

A Chicken Maryland is a butcher's cut — the thigh and drumstick left joined together. It can also include a segment of the spine, along the top of the thigh.

Somewhere along the way, it got named after a state, though no one can quite agree why or how. The name stuck anyway, carried by butchers from kitchen to kitchen, country to country, meaning slightly different things depending on where you are.

Sound familiar?

Today I'm making Chicken Marylands with lentils — a humble, unhurried dish for a day that has been anything but. Because sometimes the most political act you can do is slow down, tend to something carefully, and feed the people around you.

Recipe below. We all need to eat. We all need to come back to the table.

(Recipe inspired by Jesse Jenkins.)

Chicken Marylands with Lentils

Ingredients:

2 Chicken Marylands (bone-in chicken leg+thigh)

1 leek, halved, washed and thinly sliced

2 med carrots, diced

1 fennel bulb, diced

14 oz dried lentils

3 cups chicken stock

3 sprigs fresh thyme

2 sage leaves

1 Rosemary branch

½ cup parsley, finely chopped

¼ cup chives, finely chopped

1 tsp Dijon mustard

2 tsp sherry or red wine vinegar

1 tbsp butter

2 tsp olive oil

Kosher salt for brining

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

On a clean prep surface, pat the chicken dry with paper towels or a clean dish towel. Season with kosher salt, transfer to a platter, and refrigerate uncovered for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight. I season the chicken all over with salt and leave it uncovered in the fridge for 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Over medium-high heat, add chicken, skin side down, to a well-oiled large oven-safe skillet. Add weights or another pan, if you’d like, to ensure even searing. Allow to cook for 5 to 10 minutes or until the chicken skin is browned. Flip and cook the other side for the same amount. Transfer to a plate or cooling rack and set aside.

Add the vegetables to the same pan, season with salt, and sweat for 5 minutes. Add the lentils, stock, thyme, sage, and rosemary (I bind these three herbs with cooking twine for easy removal, but that’s not a huge deal for this dish; you should be able to spot them easily). Bring to a simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the chicken to the lentils skin side up so that it remains uncovered, then transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 30–45 minutes (or until the lentils have softened and the chicken skin is dark and crispy).

Carefully remove the skillet and place it on the cooktop. Transfer the chicken to a plate and discard the herbs. Finish the lentils by mixing in the butter, mustard, vinegar, parsley, and chives — also adding salt and pepper to taste.

Serve by spooning finished lentils onto a plate and topping with chicken. Garnish with additional parsley if desired.

Enjoy!