Superfast Crispy Chicken Thighs. I am now a chicken thigh convert! I never thought I liked dark meat, until… try this, I bet you will change your ways! Just look at these chicken thighs… crispy, but moist and tender. One little bone, and that’s it! Great with fresh corn on the cob!
Just LOOK at that crispy skin! All with 1 tablespoon of oil! The trick is cooking skin side down in a cast iron skillet for a certain time and then moving that pan into the oven to finish. Incredible.
My only concern (what could we have done wrong?) is that despite the exceptional (and I do mean OUT OF THIS WORLD, BEST FRIED CHICKEN YOU EVER PUT IN YOUR MOUTH) taste of this chicken, the oven was a disaster. I don’t mean a little disaster, I mean while the pan was in the oven, black smoke started coming out of the oven. All windows open, fans going at high speed, oven cleaned, and it took a few days to get over it. The oven has almost fully recovered, so it may be time to try again. One thing we forgot to do is trim the extra fat from the skin. I would say this is key. We also had 4 thighs (not 6) and a 9″ (not 10″) pan, yet I used 1 tablespoon of oil. Next time I will try half that and see what happens. I really want to make this again!
Suggestions?
- Print Recipe (takes you directly to this recipe on the MyRecipes.com website for Cooking Light recipes)…
SUPERFAST CRISPY CHICKEN THIGHS
Start by preheating your oven to 500°. While the oven is heating up, place the chicken thighs skin side UP on a cutting board (ideally, one you can put in the dishwasher), trim extra fat. Cover chicken with plastic wrap, and pound it to about 3/4″ thickness. This will help it cook quickly. You can use either a meat mallet or a heavy pan, I used the cast iron skillet, but was very careful to not hit the countertop. Pat the thighs dry with a paper towel and salt and pepper.
Heat a 12″ cast iron skillet over medium heat, and add the 1 tablespoon of canola oil. Swirl to coat the pan, then add the chicken SKIN SIDE DOWN. Cook 8 minutes without disturbing it (or until you see edges get a nice golden brown). We cooked it outside on the burner of the grill. We didn’t trim the excess fat (oops!) and it spit like you wouldn’t believe. If you cook it part way outside and then bring it in to put in the oven, be VERY careful. I put a piece of foil over the top, because it was really splattering. Then transfer the pan just like it is to the hot oven. Bake at 500° for 7 minutes, then turn the chicken over, and bake an additional 4 minutes (or until the chicken is done).
What you will end up with is THE crispiest fried chicken ever!
My oven was a mess, but hey, it needed to be cleaned anyway!
I highly recommend this recipe!
I think one of the tricks is not touching it while it’s cooking on top of the stove, or this case, the burner on the grill… Which I highly suggest!
Recipe via MyRecipes.com (Cooking Light, and other magazine’s recipes are on this site).
Catch you back here tomorrow!
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