Recipe: insanely delicious crispy chicken with garlic and butter

We absolutely love chicken, although not all our colleagues are equally fond of gnawing on chicken off the bone. Don’t worry, you can simply eat these buttery garlic chicken thighs with a knife and fork, and if you throw some vegetables into the pan, you’ll have a top-notch meal on the table in no time!

Make sure you buy skin-on chicken thigh fillets (available from the poultry butcher; otherwise, go for bone-in chicken thighs—as long as they have skin on), because that’s the secret to an incredibly crispy layer. You’ll slowly fry them skin-side down first, allowing that wonderful fat to create a delicious crunch. As we described earlier for crispy fish skin, we start with a cold pan!

How to make the most delicious crispy chicken with garlic and butter

• Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 200° C.
• Pat the chicken thigh fillets dry with sturdy paper towels and lightly season all over with salt.
• Trim the vegetables (for example green beans, sugar snaps or broccoli florets) you want to use; they’ll go into the pan shortly.
• Place the chicken skin-side down in a frying pan or sauté pan that can also go in the oven (!).
• Put the pan on the stove and turn the heat on (only now), to medium-high.
• Leave it completely undisturbed for 10 minutes and watch the skin turn golden brown as the pan gets hotter.
• Meanwhile, put the butter in a small saucepan and grate the garlic over it.
• Melt over low heat and turn off the heat.
• Only after 10 minutes should you give the chicken some attention again; grab a pair of kitchen tongs and move the chicken around a little in the pan so it browns all over.
• After about 5–8 minutes, turn off the heat.
• The chicken is not cooked through yet.
• Remove the chicken from the pan with the tongs and set it aside briefly on a plate.
• Add the vegetables to the pan in the rendered chicken fat and toss to coat.
• Place the chicken on top of the vegetables.
• Pour the melted butter over the chicken and vegetables and place the pan in the oven.
• Bake in the oven for another 15 minutes, then serve this divine buttery garlic chicken and vegetables with, for example, rice or perfectly boiled potatoes.

With thanks to: The Kitchn

Also read:

• Budget cooking: chicken thigh
• Recipe: chicken with 40 cloves of garlic
• Recipe: Chicken in chocolate sauce