Weekend Entertaining

by Laura Donnelly — October 5, 2007

Chicken thighs are flavorful and inexpensive. This is a perfect dish for weekend entertaining and can be doubled. Extra firm tofu can be added or substituted for the chicken. Pressing the chicken into the pan as it cooks gives it that crispy skin that restaurants do so well. It also eliminates some of the fat! Serve this with some creamy risotto, butternut squash, sautéed winter greens, and apple crisp!

Crispy Restaurant-Style Chicken

Serves 4

This recipe is best made with kosher chicken (which has been salted or brined ahead of time)

4 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
1/4 cup good olive oil
4 chicken thighs

1. Combine garlic with salt, then add mint, lemon zest, lemon juice, pepper flakes, and olive oil. Marinate chicken pieces for 1 hour at room temperature or 12 hours in advance, refrigerated.

2. Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Drain chicken, reserve marinade, pat chicken dry with paper towel (this will help to crisp the chicken). Lay chicken skin-side down in pan and put weight on top (to do this, use another smaller skillet with a clean bottom and weigh it down with a tea kettle or large can or beans or whatever). Cook for 5 minutes, then reduce heat to medium and cook 5 minutes more, or until chicken is well browned. Flip chicken, put weight back on, and cook on other side about 8 more minutes.

3. Transfer chicken to warm platter, pour oil out of pan, and put reserved marinade into pan. Stir and simmer for a few minutes, scraping up the nice browned bits in the pan. Pour over chicken and serve immediately.