Chicken Tagine is 15 minutes? Does that sound right to you?

Yes, I think so--the recipe specifies boneless, skinless chicken thighs. . .

Boneless skinless Chicken thighs cook pretty quickly. They are not very thick and you can split the meat to make it thinner. If the thighs were really big, I would check the meat in 10 minutes, and be prepared to maybe add a little water and let it cook for a little while longer.

I guess it depends on the size of the thighs you can purchase. Around here, the thighs are pretty big, which is a constant frustration to all those actor-typey persons in Los Angeles . . . ( and that's all I have to say about that!)

 
It's not just your area, I bought a skin-on boneless breast recently, ordered it from the counter

and didn't pay attention to the size. When I got it home and split it into halves, I realized each half weighed a lb. So that was a 2 lb breast, after bones removed. That is one big chicken! And this came from a store that says no hormones, antibiotics, etc.

 
I agree. Huge here too at a similar market. I buy boneless chicken breast halfs and have to cut

The in half and pound them. Why are these chickens so big now? There is a little country market that I pass and buy some normal sized legs and breasts. No word about the no antibiotics there though.

 
Actually, I did a second recipe last night using the same batch of thighs in 2 inch pieces

(same size as the tagine) and they were cooked in 15 minutes. Checked with a Thermo pen this time and pieces were at 195 degrees. They had been buried in sauteed onions.

This is new to me--I wouldn't have thought it, but feel more confident having a valid temperature reading.

Agree a whole thigh with bone-in takes 30-35 minutes on stove top.

 
First, the chickens are bred to grow BIG fast . . .

Fast as in they are slaughtered when between 5 to 7 weeks of age (think about it, under two months!). Over this age, they will actually start to die from (un-) natural causes.

Second, I think the chickens going to markets for purchase by the public are the "older" (like 7 weeks!!), larger ones. I think all the little chickens, the ones old cookbooks meant when they tell you to get a "broiler fryer, about 3-1/2 lbs" are sold to all those chicken places: El Pollo Loco, Popeye's, KFC. When I get fried chicken at Popeye's or KFC and the pieces are sooooo teeny-tiny compared to the ones at the supermarket, well, I think I know where all the little chickens are going. Tiny wings, drums, breast, thighs at the prepared chicken places. Ginormous pieces at the market.

About the only place I can find a sub-3lb chicken is at our local Sprouts market, being sold at a premium price as a naturally raised bird -- or is it organic; I cannot remember.

It is rare to find a whole chicken here in a supermarket that weighs less than 4 1/2 lbs. Most are between 5-6 lbs. And I don't even need to look for a "Roaster" as they are not much bigger than the "Fryers". . . !

 
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