Bone-In Chicken Recipes

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March 19, 2026

Have you heard? Bone-in chicken parts are on sale here at Whiffletree! Leg/thighs are one of our family's favorite cuts because they are so moist and flavorful with lots of crispy skin and tender bits close to the bone.

Fun facts about leg/thighs:

The price is right! (Plus, Whiffletree offers further bulk pack savings!)
You can swap in leg/thighs for any recipe that calls for drumsticks or thighs (bone-in or boneless).
If you prefer smaller portions, you can easily cut the leg and thigh apart after cooking. (Check out Bethany's tutorial video!) Just wiggle your knife around in the joint, and you will find a little space between the bones where it is easy to cut, especially after cooking has loosened everything up.
Packaged in bags between one and two pounds, these thaw quickly in a bowl of cold water for last-minute dinner prep.

A few ideas for how to use your Whiffletree bone-in chicken:

Marinade

Use any favorite marinade such as leftover salad dressings (feel free to use a little extra oil to stretch them!). Some of my favorites are:

*Equal parts olive oil and balsamic vinegar, 1/2 as much soy sauce, a bit of mince garlic and honey

*Equal parts lime juice and olive oil, minced garlic, cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper

*1/2 cup olive oil, 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Butter-Based Sauce

Cover with a simple butter-based sauce. Melt about 2 tablespoons of butter for each leg/thigh, then mix in some Dijon mustard, harissa, barbecue sauce, or marinara sauce until it is nice and thick. Add some fresh or dried herbs if you like. Bruch sauce on the chicken pieces. Grill or roast at 375 until the chicken reaches 165 degrees and the skin is brown and crispy.

The marinara sauce option makes a simple "Chicken Parmesan" if you sprinkle some shredded cheese on top after removing them from the oven. Serve the extra marinara on the side.

You can even roast veggies right in the pan with the chicken. Toss the veggies in a little extra fat to begin; the chicken juices will add more flavor. Check the veggies and stir occasionally to prevent burning. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots and brussel sprouts all do well with this treatment!

Slow-Cooker

Start frozen or thawed and cook in the slow-cooker. Pop the leg/thighs in the crock pot and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder or with any favorite spice rub. Add about a cup of broth to the bottom of the slow-cooker. Cook on low for at least four hours until the chicken has reached 165 degrees. Starting from frozen might take up to 6 hours, depending on how many leg/thighs you are using. this meat will be moist, juicy, and falling off the bone.

Serve over rice as-is or shred to use for tacos, enchiladas, chicken salad, soup, etc. You might prefer this to the messier work of preparing a whole chicken in the same way, and you still will have a pile of bones to return to the slow-cooker to make broth.

Shannon Hayes Recipe

I have not personally made Shannon Hayes' "Chicken Roasted with Caramelized Onions, Apples, and Cheddar" from Long Way on a Little, but it sounds amazing! Shannon Hayes is a farmer of grassfed and pastured meats in New York state who has written numerous books and cookbooks. We love Long Way on a Little in particular!

Now that you know what to do, come on into the farm store and stock up on leg/thighs, a great cut for simple weekday meals and weekend feasts alike-now at an especially great price!

-Liz

A Tribute to Wendell Berry from a Farmer Who Didn't Listen to His Advice

If you didn't hear, Wendell Berry passed away yesterday. I am indebted to Berry. In 2005 I had just graduated from college, and Liz and I were just married. And I was floundering a bit. Eager to set to some good work and to make a good life, but at a loss as to how to go about that. In terms of work and career I was all over the place--maybe med school, maybe seminary, maybe start a music festival, maybe go into audio documentary, maybe.... A friend of Liz and mine had recently spent a week visiting Berry, and sent us his short novel, A World Lost. We read it and loved it! It bit me. I was hooked. I read all of Berry's fiction that year. I read any chance I got--I remember reading at red lights. It was his vision of the good life and his critique of our modern life that captured my imagination. A big point of his is that fundamentally humans are happiest when their lives are as integrated as possible. I will get into what that means. But in contradiction to that, modern society has us "dis-integrated"--people don't live where they grew up, families don't live near each other, home and work are disconnected, children's lives and adult lives are disconnected, people are disconnected from food production, the work of the home is outsourced--no one makes anything at their home--it is only a place of ready-made consumption. Modernity is about specialization and outsourcing; and therefore dis-integration. And this has been an effective way to generate cash-wealth. If we all max our earning potential, and outsource all the work we can pay someone else to do more cheaply, then our bank accounts are ahead. So while this modern life has generated lots of cash-wealth, it has not done such a good job of making people happy. And Berry's point is that human lives are most full and most happy when they have this level of humane integratedness, rootedness, connection, localized knowledge, intimacy with your people and place; and when all the parts of your life are all intermeshed as possible--children, work, religion, home-making, neighbors, extended family, and your 3rd grade teacher are all mixed up and jumbled up in inter-crossing lines of familiarity and connection. This made a lot of sense to me, and caught me by the heart. I wanted this life of intimacy, connection, rootedness, care, friendship. That was step 1. Step 2 was coming across Joel Salatin's writings. Berry was the poet that wooed me to this idea of a good life. Salatin was the technician who laid out a compelling and reasonable plan for a novice like me to get into regenerative farming, do some good by healing land/animals/people, and actually provide a living for my family. So after doing a bunch of reading, and befriending farmers like Salatin, I decided I want to write a thank you letter to Berry. In my 1st letter I thank Berry for all his writings and let him know how he has benefited me, and let him know that I am making moves to get into regenerative farming. He sends back the below letter which is very kind and all, but essentially tells me to not go into full time farming. Ha! I remember reading that aghast, and a little angry--"this Berry guy thinks I am a fool and naive and have no idea what I am getting into--well, I will show him!" was about what I was thinking. So I take a deep breath, cool off a bit and write him back--pushing back and saying all the ways I have done my due diligence, and how I have a reasonable plan (and essentially, that "I am not a fool and naive, and I am a big grown up boy, thank you very much!"--Ha!). He then sends me back his very Berry-esque letter, which says essentially--"hey if you really want to get into farming, my advice isn't going to stop you." So Berry. Well, fast forward about 3 years from that letter. Liz and I had moved from Charlottesville back to my hometown of Warrenton (a very Berry-inspired move to be back in my hometown and near my family), and we had started Whiffletree Farm. I was working part time doing handyman work, while getting the farm business going. Berry had just published a new book of poetry and was making a reading stop at UVA. A friend involved with his stop at UVA invited us to a VIP reading. We went, and it was great. And then afterwards, there was some time where I could go up and speak to Berry. I went up and reminded him who I was and about our exchange of letters. And I told him how I was executing on this plan to ease into full time regenerative farming, with the handyman business, without going into debt, and how the farm business was growing, and that pretty soon we would be able to go full time. To this day, I can remember his reaction. It is a highlight of my life. He pumped his arm and said emphatically, "YES! This is how you have to do it!" It was my hero slapping me on the back. Major tingles. I was flying so high. My life could have gone in a lot of directions--some not so great. I was a pretty confused young man, and looking for direction. Liz and I are so grateful to Berry for his influence on us--his challenge to resist the current of modernity that prioritizes cash-wealth, and instead to go after an integrated life that prioritizes rootedness, connection, stability, sacrifice, friendship, care. It is still a daily challenge, but worth the fight! God bless Wendell Berry. Jesse Straight