Baked Chicken Thighs
This is one of those recipes that you can throw any spice at depending on the flavor profile you’re going for. The spice blend I’ve listed here makes the chicken go with pretty much anything - on its own, in a pasta, etc. Though it does have a lot of chili powder in it, that’s mostly for flavor - these are not spicy.
INGREDIENTS YOU WILL NEED:
Bone-in skin-on chicken thighs - 6-8 thighs
Spice paste:
Olive oil - 4 tbsp
Yellow mustard - 1 tbsp
Smoked paprika - 1 tbsp
Kosher salt 1/2 tbsp
Black pepper - 1/2 tbsp
Garlic powder - 1 tbsp
Onion powder - 1/2 tbsp
Chili powder - 2 tbsp
Honey - 1/2 tbsp
“Glaze”:
Dale’s seasoning (alternative is soy sauce, if you don’t have Dale’s, but I highly suggest owning it for anyone who grills or roasts food) - 4 tbsps
Brown sugar - 1 tbsp
UTENSILS I’D SUGGEST HAVING:
Sheet pan
Wire cooling rack(s)
Silicone brush - for glaze
Small bowl - for mixing paste
Tin foil
Meat thermometer (optional)
ORDER OF OPERATIONS:
Make the paste and the glaze and set aside.
Clean and trim any extra fat or skin from the chicken. Rub spice paste all over chicken.
Cook low and slow before brushing with glaze and kicking up the heat
Brush with glaze one last time before removing from the oven when it reaches a safe temp
INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat? Yes - 250 F (121 C)
Mix all of the ingredients for your paste in a small bowl until it’s a semi-thick paste. If you think it’s too thick (dry), you can add more olive oil, and if it’s too thin, add more of the seasonings listed until it’s the right consistency.
Massage the spice paste all over the chicken and place them ontop of the wire rack that’s sitting on top of your foil lined pan.
Tip: while the foil isn’t 100% necessary, it will drastically help with cleanup later. The paste & glaze having sugar in them means the drippings off the chicken burn quickly, so throwing away foil is a lot easier than cleaning a crispy pan.
Cook at 250 F for 30 minutes. Then you’ll flip your chicken, brush on the glaze mixture, and turn your oven temp up to 400 F (204 C) for another 40-45 minutes or until the chicken temp reaches at least 165 F.
Tip: smaller pieces will cook faster than larger, so if you have a mixed bag, make sure you temp check those first and pull them out if need be.
Second Tip: if you’re needing to cook them longer and your skin starts to burn / get too crispy, that’s okay - it’s because of the sugar in the glaze. Wrap a piece of tin foil over the whole pan and that’ll keep it from getting any darker (this step is not usually necessary in my experience)
Brush the chicken once more with the glaze when it comes out and let it rest for at least 5 minutes before cutting into it.
Enjoy!
