Crispy Chicken Thighs with Rosemary

by Nick Vagnoni, Posted Jan 19th 2006 @ 3:18PM

By far, the most common way I prepare chicken these days is by roasting thighs. I went through a phase where I was doing whole chickens, and there's definitely something satisfying about pulling a whole bird from the oven. But for convenience, cost and flavor, I think that thighs are the way to go. I know some of you may be into the whole boneless, skinless breast thing, but I just find them dry and flavorless. Crisp skin, flecked with coarse salt, cracked pepper and rosemary is where it's at.

Simply trim any excess fat from your chicken thighs, rinse them under cold water and pat them dry with paper towels. I don't have a roasting pan with a rack, so I just place the thighs, skin side up, on the wire racks from my toaster oven and set those over a foil-lined sheet pan. Season the thighs liberally with kosher salt, freshly cracked pepper and coarsely chopped fresh rosemary. Bake on the middle rack of a 425 degree oven for roughly 45 minutes, until the juices run clear and the flesh is no longer pink at the bone. You're looking for an internal temperature of 180.

If you like, save the chicken fat and drippings and use them to brown some sliced, boiled potatoes with a little garlic and more rosemary.

Filed Under: Ingredients, How To, Methods
Tags: chicken thighs, ChickenThighs, crisp skin, dinner, poultry, roasted, roasting, rosemary

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

1-19-2006 @6:46PM Chef B said... My faorite rub on chicken, rack of lamb, roasted potatoes and just about everything else is Rosemary & Garlic Dipping Spices (Rosa Maria) by Dellalo in PA.

https://www.delallo.com/products_display.php?prod_id=623

My 7yr old son LOVES this stuff on his tater tots running it thru a pepper grinder that I use for this mix only.
Try it, you won't be disappointed.
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1-19-2006 @7:20PM extramsg said... This has become my MO for chicken as well. However, I use a different cooking method. I usually just toss them on a foil lined sheet pan for easy cleanup. Skin side up, of course, liberally coated with salt and pepper. Brushing a little fat on them will make them brown better, but it's not necessary.

However, I use a 450-475 degree oven and they cook closer to 25 minutes than 45 minutes. 45 minutes seems WAAAAAY too long for chicken thighs. That'd be like turkey thighs. I generally cook them to 170 and let carryover take them a little further. Don't need chicken any dryer than necessary. If they haven't brown well enough by 160 degrees, I'll turn on the broiler to finish them and crisp them up even more. The skin alone is worth it.
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1-20-2006 @9:06AM Nick said... Hmm, I've never had a problem with them drying out when I cook them at 425. I'll give the higher temperature a shot sometime though. Thanks.
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