One-Pot Chicken Thighs And Potlikker Rice

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A comforting weeknight dinner with all the savory flavors of potlikker and greens.

By Jasmine Smith
Published on January 12, 2024
Recipe tested by
Southern Living Test Kitchen
Southern Living Test Kitchen
Recipe tested by Southern Living Test Kitchen

The Southern Living Test Kitchen has been publishing recipes since 1970, four years after the first issue of Southern Living Magazine appeared on newsstands. The Southern Living Test Kitchen team includes a team of professionals with deep expertise in recipe development, from pastry chefs and grilling experts to nutritionists and dietitians. Together, the team tests and retests, produces, styles, and photographs thousands of recipes each year in the state-of-the-art test kitchen facility located in Birmingham, Alabama.

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Southern Living One-Pot Chicken Thighs And Potlikker Rice
Photo:

Greg Dupree, Food Stylist: Chelsea Zimmer, Prop Stylist: Shell Royster
Active Time:
20 mins
Total Time:
40 mins
Servings:
4

Across the South and around the world, chicken and rice brings comfort to folks of all stripes. This dish takes it up a notch by using fresh and cooked collards (and their potlikker).

Meaty chicken thighs cook skin side down in a cast-iron skillet, then take a breather outside the skillet while garlic gets a sizzle in its rendered drippings. In goes rice, leftover cooked collards, rice, and that liquid gold—potlikker.

Once the chicken gets nestled in (crispy side up, please) the whole thing goes into the oven for the chicken to finish cooking and the rice to get tender and soak up nearly every drop of potlikker. For a final touch, fresh collards get roasted until crisp, then crushed together with red pepper flakes, garlic, and benne seeds. Sprinkled over the finished dish, it adds a crunchy, spicy punch to this next-level comfort food.

Ingredients

  • 3 large fresh whole collard green leaves (4 1/2 oz. total), stemmed and quartered

  • 2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided

  • 2 tsp. kosher salt, divided

  • 4 (7-oz.) bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs

  • 3/4 tsp. black pepper

  • 1 Tbsp. minced garlic (from 3 large cloves)

  • 1 1/2 cups potlikker (reserved from Double-The-Potlikker Greens)

  • 1 cup cooked collard greens (reserved from Double-The-Potlikker Greens), roughly chopped

  • 1 cup uncooked Carolina Gold or jasmine rice, well rinsed

  • 4 tsp. benne seeds or sesame seeds, lightly toasted

  • 1 tsp. dried garlic flakes

  • 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F with racks in middle and top third positions. Divide collard green pieces evenly among 2 baking sheets. Brush both sides of collard green pieces with 1 tablespoon of the oil, and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt. Bake on middle rack until crispy, 10 to 12 minutes, flipping collard green pieces halfway through. Remove baking sheets from oven; set collard green chips aside to cool, about 15 minutes. Do not turn oven off.

  2. Meanwhile, heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a large high-sided ovenproof skillet (cast iron preferred) over medium until shimmering. Sprinkle chicken with black pepper and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Place chicken, skin side down, in hot oil. Cook, undisturbed, until skin is golden brown and easily releases from the pan, 8 to 10 minutes. Flip chicken, and continue to cook until bottom is lightly browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate.

  3. Add garlic to drippings in skillet; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant and lightly browned, about 30 seconds. Stir in potlikker, cooked collard greens, rice, and remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt. Nestle browned chicken, skin side up, in rice mixture; bring to a boil over high. Cover and transfer the skillet to top oven rack. Bake at 350°F until rice is just tender and a thermometer inserted into thickest portion of chicken registers 165°F, about 20 minutes.

  4. Remove lid from skillet, and increase oven temperature to broil. Broil until the chicken skin is crispy, about 5 minutes. Remove from oven.

  5. Meanwhile, combine baked collard green chips, benne seeds, dried garlic flakes, and crushed red pepper in a mortar; crush with a pestle until the mixture reaches a flaky consistency. (Alternatively, pulse the mixture in a food processor until greens are finely chopped.)

  6. To serve, fluff rice with a fork, and sprinkle 1/4 cup of the crushed collard green mixture over chicken and rice in skillet. Divide chicken and rice among plates, and top with additional crushed collard green mixture, if desired. Serve warm.

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