Report Blog Entry
I finally cooked something more advanced than pasta! It's been a while, mostly because it had been like a month since I'd gone to the grocery store (time escapes me). Anyways, this recipe is pretty damn simple and fantastic, which is great for dorm cooking. I got this recipe from a family friend a few years ago and it became a dinner staple before I went off to college. If you live in housing like mine with a kitchen, or can use a shared kitchen, i highly recommend trying it out!
NOTE: This recipe requires a 12-inch cast iron pan!
Ingredients
- 3lbs bone in chicken pieces (I use 4 bone in thighs, but you can use legs as well)
- 2 teaspoons of paprika
- 2 teaspoons of salt
- 1 teaspoon of pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon of onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic (or garlic powder, both work)
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (but i use salted usually cause i can't be bothered to also buy unsalted)
- (OPTIONAL) 6 springs fresh thyme (the aromatic adds quite a bit! but I've made it many times without and it's still delicious)
Step 0: move the oven rack to the middle, place cast iron pan in the oven, and begin pre-heating to 450F.
Step 1: combine spices in a small bowl and pat chicken pieces dry with paper towels.
Step 2: season chicken LIBERALLY. I usually take 2-3 pinches of the spice mixture and sprinkle/spread it over the top and bottom of each thigh. Remove the pan from the oven (it will be super hot!) and melt the 2 tablespoons of butter in the pan. Once the butter is melted (only takes like 10 seconds), add thyme sprigs if you have them.
Step 3: Transfer chicken pieces into pan SKIN DOWN. Bake for 15 minutes. You're going to be able to hear the butter sizzling/boiling, that's okay.
Step 4: After the 15 mins, take the chicken out and flip all the pieces over. Bake for 15 more minutes.
Step 5: Remove chicken from the oven and check temperature with a meat thermometer. Cooked chicken is 165 F, or 175 F if it's a thick piece like a thigh. Remove cooked chicken from pan and pour the leftover butter/juice into a small bowl.
And that's it! If you want you can spoon some of the extra butter/juice on top of the chicken, or if you have corn as a side dish (like I usually do) you can add it to the corn. The end result is a nice crispy, crunchy skin and very moist chicken.
Comments
Displaying 0 of 0 comments ( View all | Add Comment )