This Chicken Thigh Recipe Changed the Way I Think About Cooking Chicken Thighs
A lot of crazy shit has happened in 2018, and somehow, in the midst of it all, the Bon Appétit Test Kitchen has once again managed to bless us with new chicken thigh recipes—this time based on a novel, ingenious technique. The secret, after all these years, is this: For maximally crispy skin, start cooking chicken thighs in a cold skillet.
I first heard rumblings of this concept while I was cooking through Healthyish’s Feel Good Food Plan, which featured the very excellent One-Skillet Crispy Chicken Thighs with Harissa. “Starting the chicken skin side down in a cold skillet lets the fat render slowly and results in the crispiest skin imaginable,” explained senior food editor Chris Morocco. Like most things Chris says, you just have to accept it as fact. No chicken thigh will ever be started in a hot pan again in my kitchen for as long as I live.
So, I was not surprised to see that in Basically's newest recipe—One-Skillet Lemony Chicken With Fennel and Tomatoes—this strategy lives on as gospel. Cold pan, in go the thighs, turn, turn, turn so there are no weird flabby bits, very bella crispy chicken emerges. Winner, winner, etc, etc.
What I was surprised to see was that this recipe asked me to place fennel, shallots, lemon (sliced into rounds), and tomato—four things I typically eat raw—into the now-hot pan that I had cooked the chicken in, place the golden-skinned thighs on top, and to roast it all in the oven until caramelized. Now things were getting a liiiiiiiiiittle bit weird! I wasn’t totally sure how this was all going to play out. Would everything be done at the same time? Or would I be left with crunchy fennel and tomato mush? But, lo and behold, it yielded a plate of perfectly crisp-tender veg seasoned gloriously by all of those rich, chicken-y juices. I admit, it all looked a little beige and muted and almost sad, but the thin slices of lemon really brought it all together, sending jolts of sunny tartness through the sweet fennel and shallots. The takeaway here: Always roast your lemons.
While all that was happening, I made a fancy-sounding “fennel oil.” (Spoiler alert: It’s just the chopped up fronds from the fennel whisked into olive oil.) And then I noticed that the recipe recommended I eat this meal, and all the blessed juices that collect in the bottom of the pan, with bread. So I decided to go rogue and brush the greenish oil onto some thick slices of sourdough, then crisped those up in another skillet, which definitely defeats the “One-Skillet” concept of this dish, but in life, you make sacrifices.
Two skillets, a small bag of inexpensive groceries, and one life-changing realization about pan temperature later, I very much enjoyed my dinner. And I have no doubt that you will too.
Get the Recipe:
One-Skillet Lemony Chicken with Fennel and Tomatoes
