These crispy, tender baked chicken thighs are really easy to make and come out perfect every time. All you
need is a little seasoning and some oil. They will be started on the stove top in a cast iron skillet and then be moved to the oven in the same skillet.
Equipment
Very little equipment is required to cook crispy, tender baked chicken thighs. These 2 items are things I use all the time in my kitchen and are worth the investment.
Ingredients
To make these crispy, tender baked chicken thighs, you only need a few things. The amount of chicken
thighs is dependent on how big they are. You want there to be at least a little space between the thighs when they are in the skillet. If they are packed in with no space, the skin will not reach the desired crispiness.
- 6 to 8 bone in, skin on chicken thighs, depending on size of thighs
- 1 Teaspoon each of sea salt, pepper, and garlic salt
- 1-1/2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 3- cloves minced garlic (I just use squeezable minced garlic)
Preparation
The prep for crispy, tender baked chicken thighs is really simple:
- Preheat oven to 400°
- Using a paper towel, pat the chicken as dry as possible. (It is tempting to skip this step, but don’t. It is key to making the skins crispy.)
- In a small ramekin or bowl, mix together the salt, pepper, and garlic salt and then sprinkle on both sides of the thighs.
- Heat olive oil in cast iron skillet over medium high heat and add garlic once oil is hot.
- Place thighs, skin side down into hot skillet and cook for 8 minutes without moving them. This allows the skin to reach the perfect crispness
- Once the thighs have a crispy, golden brown crust and will release from the skillet, turn them over with tongs and move the skillet to the preheated oven.
- Bake chicken for about 18 minutes until it is cooked through and is at least 165° on an instant read meat thermometer.
- Once chicken is cooked through, move thighs to a paper towel covered plate to soak up excess fat.
- Serve with your favorite vegetable, green beans are really good!
Tips for Success
For the best results with these crispy, tender bake chicken thighs, follow these tips:
- Pat the chicken dry before seasoning.
- Do not overcrowd the chicken in the skillet, there should be a little room between each piece. If the skillet is crowded, the chicken may not reach desired crispness
- Use an instant read thermometer that has a long probe. This will allow you to monitor the temperature without removing the chicken from the oven.
- Chicken thighs can vary greatly in size, when selecting your thighs at the store, try to select a package where the thighs are a similar size. This will help ensure they are all cooked to a similar consistency.
- Cooking time in this recipe is an estimate. You may need to adjust it depending on the size of the chicken thighs.
This looks and sounds fantastic! I will be cooking it. I love to cook, however frying chicken has never been my forte’. I tend to skip the paper towel part, now I know why it is so important. Thank you for sharing, I will return for more great recipes!
Thanks for checking out the recipe! I hope it turns out great for you.
I didn’t know that I needed to leave space between the pieces. I’ll have to give this a try. I’m shocked I made it through this article without drooling on my chin. Nice Post. Thanks!
Thanks for checking it out. I hope it turns out great when you make it!
I love this recipe! I have cooked chicken thighs like this before and I love the crispy chicken skin and how tender and juicy the thigh meat is.
Which brand of instant read thermometer do you use? Mine is kind of a pain and I want one that is simpler to use.
Thank you!
Thanks for checking out the recipe! I use a thermometer very similar to this one
That’s a neat little gadget for monitoring the temperature. Thanks for the recommendation and the recipe. I love chicken. Baked, cooked, fried, it doesn’t matter. It’s chicken! 🙂
But I don’t seem to understand how can you check the temperature without removing the chicken from the oven..?
Thanks for checking out the recipe! I use an instant read thermometer similar to this one It has a long probe on a wire. The probe goes into the chicken, the display sits outside the oven where you can monitor it.