Golden brown and crispy on the outside, tender and juicy on the inside – it’s everything you’d want for dinner!
During the health food fads of yesteryear, my mother almost never served me a part of the chicken that wasn’t the breast meat. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, 100% white meat was the buzzword for a lot of middle-class American households obsessed with trying to curtail the fat content in their diets. As such, I was eating admittedly bland chicken breast (cooked with no oil and as little salt as possible) for the majority of my youth, to follow suit with dietary fads my mother had read in a magazine somewhere. It embarrasses me to say but I didn’t have a basket of chicken wings until I was in college and the same could be said for dark meat and chicken thighs.
It took meeting my spouse and having a whole different family’s style of home cooking to coax me away from white meat and onto chicken’s dark side – which is a shame because that’s honestly where all the flavor is! Despite what I had been shown through overly cautious dietary practices, chicken can actually be delicious and chicken thighs are one of the tastiest cuts on the bird. These pan-seared chicken thighs go above and beyond the expectations of flavor with juicy meat and scintillating scents from fragrant seasonings like black pepper, garlic powder, paprika, and just a pinch of salt.
How To Tenderize Chicken Thighs…
Chicken thighs are easily some of the juiciest meat I’ve eaten, hands down; but, did you know there’s a secret to getting perfectly tender chicken thighs? Beating the devil out of a slab of chicken with a tenderizing hammer is a whole lot of work and can sometimes result in a loss of that savory juiciness! So what is it that keeps all that delicious flavor and turns your thighs into delicious meaty morsels? Marinades!
Soaking your raw chicken thighs in a simple marinade with high acidity compounds in it can do all the work of tenderizing your meat the night before (or an hour ahead, if you’re in a hurry!). Just drop your raw thighs into a Ziploc bag with olive oil and lemon juice (or try buttermilk or yogurt soaks!) to get seriously scrumptious and tantalizingly tender chicken with nothing more than an overnight soak. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can even add salt and spices to a water-based marinade and let those flavors permeate into the meat, too – that’s called a brine.
Alternatively, if you wanted to try a traditional Chinese style of tenderizing typically reserved for stir-frying, you can do something called velveting. This requires your cut raw chicken to be soaked in a thin slurry of cornstarch, egg white, salt, and either sesame oil or rice wine. Once thoroughly coated, toss the chicken into boiling water for no more than a minute (just until the outsides get white). Then, pan-sear your chicken thighs like the recipe calls for and delight in tender, juicy chicken!
How to Make Ahead and Store?
Chicken thighs are best served hot off the pan, though if you have any left over, it’s best to store them in a resealable container or wrapped tightly in foil. Keep your sealed chicken in the fridge for up to 5 days and heat until thoroughly cooked before serving (you should be able to cut the thickest part of your chicken thighs and feel heat on the meat inside).
Serving Suggestions
Pan-seared chicken thighs are delicious all on their own, but don’t plate them alone! Savor the dark side of chicken with some excellent pairings from our catalog like Ham and Hash Brown Casserole and Parmesan Roasted Asparagus Fries (for a Southern comfort food feast!) or a pair of vegetable boats like Stuffed Bell Peppers and Twice-Baked Potatoes with Horseradish and Chive (two of my mom’s personal favorites!). If you’re looking for a healthy alternative side, try some veggie favorites like an appetizer of Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad and a side of delicious Artichoke Pasta!
Pan-Seared Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Pat the chicken thighs dry with paper towels to remove excess moisture.
- Season both sides of the chicken thighs evenly with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot.
- Place chicken thighs in the skillet, and cook for 6-7 minutes on one side until a golden-brown crust forms.
- Flip the chicken thighs over and cook for an additional 7-8 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F and the juices run clear.
- Remove the chicken from the skillet and let it rest for a few minutes before serving.
Leave a Comment