In culinary school, chefs dedicated entire units to brioche, risotto, béchamel. But before we even got to specific techniques, we learned one fundamental truth: all cooking falls into two categories — moist heat and dry heat.
Some ingredients do better with moist heat cooking — boiling, poaching, steaming, etc. A delicate fish can be cooked to perfection with a few minutes of simmering in a sauce.
Some things are better with dry heat — searing, frying, baking, etc. Take Brussels sprouts, for example. Boiled sprouts have traumatized many a childhood, but roasted sprouts? Crispy, caramelized, and suddenly everyone’s favorite vegetable.
Some of the best dishes use both. That’s what chefs call combination cooking — and understanding that concept led me to the most foolproof, flavorful, and crispy-skinned chicken thighs I’ve ever made.
You start with bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs. I generally prefer chicken thighs over breasts for dinner because they are more flavorful and more forgiving when it comes to overcooking. Most importantly, they’re less expensive.
A few things to pay attention to when buying your chicken at the grocery store:
When you’re ready to cook, preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C). Then, pat your thighs — not those thighs, silly, the chicken’s! Dabbing the skin with a dry paper towel makes for crispy skin and prevents sticking.
Season the chicken generously on both sides — don’t be shy. One of the first things they drill into you at culinary school? Salt is nonnegotiable.
As for the rest of your seasoning? Keep it simple or go wild with dry spices — whatever speaks to you. Either way it will be delicious.*
Heat an oven-safe pan over medium heat for a few minutes. Once the pan is hot, add a tablespoon or so of neutral oil. You can toss a pat of butter in too for flavor, but it’s not tooootally necessary.
Place the thighs skin-side down in a hot, greased pan — then don’t touch them for 3–5 minutes. Starting with dry chicken and a properly heated pan sets you up for crispy skin that releases cleanly. And please, for the love of Thomas Keller, resist the urge to fuss with it. A real chef knows that a great sear comes down to one thing: patience.
Flip the chicken — ideally with a fish spatula to protect that beautiful skin. (Sidenote: culinary school kids love those bendy little spatulas.) Sear the other side for another 3–5 minutes, then remove the chicken from the pan and set it aside.
Carefully pour off the excess fat, but whatever you do, don’t scrape out those little golden-brown bits stuck to the bottom. That is what French chefs call fond, and it is scrumdiddlyumptious. We’re about to turn it into a flavor bomb of a sauce that will double as a braising liquid. BAM!
Deglaze the pan with white wine, vinegar, or lemon juice — plus some stock.* A splash of cream is also very welcome here. Bring it all to a boil, then taste for seasoning. If it’s feeling a little bland, add a touch more of your deglazing liquid and a pinch of salt to wake it up.
Now is also a good time to throw in some veggies for a dinner that comes together in one pan. Dark leafy greens are a great option — in this case, spinach.
Return the chicken to the pan, skin-side up, and pop it in the oven — uncovered — for about 30 minutes. What you’re doing here is basically a quick braise: the bone-in thighs simmer gently in the liquid, while the exposed skin stays crispy thanks to the dry heat of the oven. Best of both worlds.
Both choosing bone-in thighs and this braising method minimize the risk of dry meat and a better chance for — say it with me now — collagen breakdown! Yay! You may have heard that chicken is cooked through at 165°F (74°C) and, to prevent toughness, you should cook it just until it reaches that temperature. Well, not in this case!
Chicken thighs actually benefit from taking the internal temperature above 165°F, because that’s when chewy connective tissues start to break down. Collagen — what those tendons and tissues are made of — transforms into silky, flavorful gelatin when exposed to heat, particularly once it hits the 160–200°F (71–93°C) range.
The final result is a tender chicken with crispy skin and a built-in sauce that’s dynamite — infused with your favorite seasonings and all those glorious chicken drippings.
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