Chicken skin and thyme butter

Method

1. Roughly dice the butter before you begin mixing it with the other ingredients to ensure an even distribution of the flavourings.
2. Heat the oven to 160°C fan/gas 4 and line a tray with baking paper. Remove the skin from the chicken thighs and lay the pieces flat on the lined tray (save the thighs for another dish). Sprinkle with salt and put another sheet of baking paper over the top. Top with another tray to keep them flat while they cook, then roast for 20 minutes until the fat has rendered. Drain the fat off and set aside, then return the skins to the oven until golden and crisp. Leave to cool, then chop and add to the butter (along with the reserved fat) with the  grated lemon zest and thyme leaves. Season with ½ tsp salt.
3. To mix, you can either use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment to beat the butter and ingredients together (this gives a coarser finish, flecked
   with chicken and herbs). Or pop everything in a food processor to whizz all the ingredients into a smooth butter,  or stir ingredients into the butter with a wooden spoon (make sure your butter is super-soft to save on elbow grease).
4. Once your butter is evenly mixed and tastes the way you want it to, it’s ready to use. Or wrap and freeze it, ready to be used whenever a dish needs something extra. Shape the softened butter into a sausage on a sheet of cling film, then wrap it up tightly, securing both ends by twisting or tying a knot. Put it in the freezer, where it will keep for up to 3 months. Whenever you need an instant hit of flavoured buttery goodness, slice off a thick coin or two from frozen, depending on how much you need, then rewrap and return the log to the freezer. Let the coins thaw for 20 minutes at room temperature or put straight in a hot pan to melt and baste whatever you’re cooking.