This recipe is one of our more simple ones, but it’s a classic from when I was growing up. It’s also pretty inexpensive, as chicken thighs are generally much cheaper than chicken breast (which confuses me a bit because I think they’re more flavourful and certainly more forgiving (aka less prone to drying out) to cook. We generally buy a big pack of thighs and put a couple in zip top bags to freeze so that we always have the cut on hand. This is the easiest way to prepare, but we also like to debone and make Stir Fries out of our chicken thighs…so that’s another thing for you to consider!
Time: 50 Minutes
Ingredients:
- Chicken Thighs
- Seasonings of your choice. We used Garlic Powder and Smoked Paprika
Method:
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F, and line a baking sheet with some foil (if it has a rack, it’s even better, as the drippings will fall through).
- Pat your chicken thighs dry, and sprinkle on your desired herbs and/or spices.
- Bake for about 45 minutes until the skin is crispy, and your meat reaches 165 F near the bone per a cooking thermometer.
- Remove from the oven, and let sit for a few minutes.
- Plate, devour, and enjoy!
The thighs are also my favorite cut from a chicken. You just can’t ruin them! The Italians have taken them to the next level by deboning them (cutting them along their length and removing the bone) and then stuffing and binding them to saute and roast… delicious, and you decide with what to fill them. They’re called Pollo fino.
Would you remove the skin or keep it on for something like that dish?
They sell them with the skin on, which I would keep because of the protection it offers against dry heat. Only the French (as far as I know) consider the skin gauche and prepare dishes with it off (such as their famous chicken stew). The skin also helps closing the filled thighs, because you can use a toothpick to close the cut with the two edges of skin.