Chicken thighs have always been one of my favorite meals. I’ve always preferred dark meat over light, and it doesn’t hurt that they tend to be inexpensive as well. But there’s always a danger that thighs will turn out too rubbery, especially if cooking bone-in, skin-on thighs. I’ve cooked a fair bit of chicken thighs in my day and in my humble opinion, the best way to cook them is grilling or broiling. Or at least, baking them and then turning on the broiler at the end to crisp up that skin. It makes a huge difference to the overall outcome. And unlike breasts, thighs are pretty hard to overcook. My husband and I have experimented with a couple of recipes, and we’ve found that five to ten extra minutes in the oven, plus a few minutes under the broiler, makes them far less greasy and rubbery.
With the amount of Sriracha in these, you’d think these would be pretty spicy. But they’re not really. I’d say that these barely even register on the heat meter. My kids all love them, and like many small children, they are averse to anything even mildly hot. But somehow, that Sriracha gives the thighs incredible flavor. The whole marinade together – the yogurt, the lemon, the garlic, the rosemary and the Sriracha – seem to add up just right. I always make a double batch when I cook these thighs, because they are just as good re-heated the next day. Just make sure you reheat in the oven, and not in the microwave. The microwave is no friend to chicken thighs!
(27 votes, average: 3.93 out of 5)Loading...Ingredients
- 1/4 cup plain yogurt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
- 2 tbsp Sriracha
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 4 to 5 large bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice, rosemary, Sriracha, garlic, salt and pepper. Place chicken thighs in a large ziploc bag and pour marinade over. Turn bag over several times to coat chicken. Place in refrigerator and let marinate for at least one hour.
- Preheat oven to 375F. Arrange chicken thighs in a single layer in a baking dish or broiler pan. Spread any marinade remaining in the bag over the thighs. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Then broil on high for 4 minutes, until skin is crispy and golden brown.
Works fine with boneless/skinless thighs too.