What a revelation! An easy, set-it-and-forget-it recipe that turns out 12 beautifully crispy, juicy chicken thighs + a lemony sauce in about 45 minutes.
You just cut an onion and throw it in a pan with some garlic, rosemary and lemon, nestle your chicken on top, and put in an alarmingly hot oven.
Warning! Be sure to use a cast iron or stainless steel pan when making this dish. We tried it in a Pyrex to disastrous results: The dish shattered inside the oven. Also, a tip: Make sure your oven is pretty clean. 500 degrees is hot, and you’ll get some burning if there is a loose potato hanging out on the bottom of your oven!
Crispy Oven-Roasted Chicken Thighs
From Nancy Silverton’s book, Mozza at Home, and found on the NY Times Cooking site as Casual Oven-Roasted Chicken Thighs.
12 chicken thighs, bone in and skin on
1 medium onion, peeled and sliced into rings
About 6-8 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
1 lemon cut in 1/4-inch-thick slices, seeded
15 fresh thyme sprigs
4 (3-inch) rosemary sprigs
2 tablespoons kosher salt, or to taste
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
Pat chicken thighs dry and place, skin side up, in a single layer on a baking sheet. Place in refrigerator, uncovered, for 8 hours or overnight to dry skin. Remove chicken from refrigerator at least 45 minutes before cooking.
Heat oven to 500 degrees. Spread onion slices and garlic cloves in a baking dish that can hold the chicken snugly in a single layer. Scatter lemon on the onion-garlic mixture and strew with thyme and rosemary sprigs.
Remove chicken from baking sheet and place on several layers of paper towels, skin side down. Sprinkle with half the salt and pepper. Turn thighs over and season with remaining salt and pepper. Transfer to the baking dish skin side up. Use your hands to arrange the bed of onions and garlic so they’re completely under the chicken.
Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until juices run clear when chicken is pierced with a knife point. If skin is not a deep golden brown and crispy, turn on broiler and broil chicken close to heat a few minutes to crisp and brown it.
