How to bake chicken thighs
Here's something you can chalk up to the fact that I only started learning how to cook about five years ago: I just recently figured out how to bake chicken thighs. I eat a lot of chicken thighs, because it's the cheapest cut of meat. But for the most part I use the meat in slow cooker recipes. It wasn't until I read the label on my bottle of Frank's Red Hot Buffalo Sauce that I realized just how easy it can be to bake chicken thighs.
Are you ready for this? Here goes:
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Step 2: Arrange chicken thighs in a 9x13 pan.
Step 3: Bake chicken thighs until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F, which takes about 45 minutes.
Step 4: Marvel at the easiness. Eat.
This works for bone-in and boneless chicken thighs, skin-on and skinless. If you want the surface of the thighs to brown nicely (hint: you do) make sure that the surface of the meat is dry before you start baking it. I like to give them a quick pat with a paper towel. Sprinkling the meat with salt before cooking can also help give you a nice brown crust, for the same reason.
If you are making Buffalo thighs, then Step 4 is "remove thighs from oven, cover in sauce, and eat." However, you can add an infinite variety of seasonings to this procedure. I am often lazy and not particularly adventurous in the kitchen, so I often use a spice blend called "Chicken Seasoning." (No, I don't know what's in it. It is seasoning for chicken. Says so right there on the label.) It tastes more or less like classic Shake 'N Bake, but without the bread crumbs.
Some options you might want to consider: lemon and thyme, rosemary, garlic, olive oil, lemon and garlic, curry seasoning. Any other suggestions? Offer them in the comments!
Image courtesy Flickr/iamdez