Deviled Chicken Legs

 Deviled Chicken  (Legs, Backs and Wings)

from The Culinary Arts Institute Encyclopedic Cookbook

To 'devil' in this instance means to use a spiced mustard mixture (hence why we call eggs Deviled when we make those for a picnic) to season.  It's a simple seasoning that adds a powerful lot of flavors out of common kitchen ingredients.

In the past using legs, wings and back was a frugal thing and it's sad to me that you so seldom see chicken backs in the market these days.  There's far more meat than you might think upon a back piece.

1 1/2 pounds of chicken legs, backs and wings (This is really about the quantity of a back, two wings and two legs from a whole chicken you cut yourself.  I have made the recipe with just the legs and just the wings)

1/4 cup fat (I used olive oil) melted if needed

1 tsp mustard (I used prepared yellow)

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp salt

Few grains of cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon vinegar

1 cup soft buttered breadcrumbs (I've also subbed in crushed potato crumbs and I think cornflakes would work just as well as cracker crumbs).

Place chicken in a baking dish.  Mix the fat and seasonings and spread over the pieces, preferably on the skin side.  Cover with crumbs and bake covered at 350F until tender.   

The end note on this recipe in my old cookbook offers this tip: Heart, gizzard, and neck may be simmered in water until partially tender, then cooked in the same way.   This note tickles me because it appeals to my frugalista side.