Spring / No. 02 / Rendering skin
Crisp Chicken Thighs with Spring Peas
Bone-in chicken thighs cooked skin-side down in a cold pan until shatteringly crisp, then finished with peas, mint, lemon and a quick pan sauce.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 35 min
- Total
- 45 min
- Yield
- 4 servings
Photo: "Kagawa style" bone-in roasted chicken thigh, steamed cabbag by naotakem, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.
If you learn one chicken technique, make it this one. Bone-in, skin-on thighs go into a cold skillet skin side down, and the heat comes up slowly. As the fat renders out, the skin fries in it and turns deep golden and crisp, while the meat stays juicy because the bone and the fat protect it.
Once the chicken is done, the fat and browned bits left in the pan become the base for a light spring side: sweet peas, a splash of stock, butter, mint and lemon. It is one skillet, about forty minutes, and it tastes like the first warm week of the year.
Method
- 1
Pat the chicken thighs very dry with paper towels. Season all over with the salt and pepper. If you have time, leave them uncovered in the fridge for an hour or up to a day to dry the skin further.
- 2
Rub the oil over the bottom of a cold 12-inch cast-iron or stainless-steel skillet. Lay the thighs in skin side down in a single layer.
- 3
Set the pan over medium heat. Once it begins to sizzle, cook without moving the chicken for 15 to 20 minutes, until the skin is deep golden and releases easily from the pan. Adjust the heat so the sizzle stays steady.
- 4
Flip the thighs and cook for 8 to 12 minutes more, until the thickest part registers 175°F (80°C) on an instant-read thermometer. Transfer skin side up to a rack or plate.
- 5
Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of fat. Add the shallot and cook over medium heat for 1 minute, scraping up the browned bits.
- 6
Add the peas and stock and simmer for 2 to 4 minutes, until the peas are tender and the liquid has reduced by about half.
- 7
Off the heat, swirl in the butter, then the mint, lemon zest and juice. Taste for salt. Spoon the peas onto a platter and set the chicken on top, skin side up, so it stays crisp.
Cook's notes
- Thighs are forgiving; they taste best cooked a bit past the 165°F safe minimum, when the connective tissue has softened.
- Save the extra fat in a jar in the fridge for roasting potatoes.
- Sugar snap peas, halved, or blanched fava beans can join the peas.
Keeping
Refrigerate chicken and peas separately for up to 3 days. Reheat chicken on a rack in a 400°F oven for 10 minutes to recrisp the skin.
Cooking times and temperatures are guides; ovens, stoves and ingredients vary. This recipe is for home cooking and is not dietary or medical advice. Check labels for allergens.
