Thighs are flexible, flavorful, and flat-out awesome.
If you’ve ever gotten into an argument about the best parts of the chicken, you’ll know what snobs thigh-lovers are. Plenty of crispy skin, they’ll say. Lots of meat that won’t dry out like breast, they’ll claim. Grillable, braisable, roastable, poachable, thighs are practically designed to be flexible, they insist. Well, guess what? Thigh lovers are correct—it is the very best part of the chicken. And since we want you to eat only the very best, we’ve rounded up our favorite chicken thigh recipes for you right here.
We love this live-fire version of a recipe from our archives because it gives camp chicken a complex flavor with minimal ingredients. The key is the Mediterranean seasoning blend called zaatar. You can start marinating the chicken at home, and even freeze it ahead.
Instead of soaking the chicken in a saltwater mixture to add flavor and juiciness, this grilled chicken recipe is brined in a mixture of buttermilk, shallots, and spices.
With a dead-simple marinade, this chicken comes out tangy and sweet, with just the right hint of bitterness. The only trick is: turn it frequently, to keep the sugars from burning.
The Kitchen, in Boulder, CO has a wine and beer bar upstairs with 100 beers as well as dishes from a wood-fired oven; this is one of them.
Sweet, slow-cooked onions and red peppers, laced with Port, capers, and thyme, make grilled chicken thighs a special summer event. This dish is good at room temperature too. Prep and Cook Time: about 1 1/2 hours.
If you can’t find packaged broccoli slaw, whirl broccoli stems in a food processor, using the grater attachment. Throw in a carrot and some red cabbage if you like.
Made with cashews, this romesco, given to us by Josh Drage, chef at the Ranch at Rock Creek in Philipsburg, Montana, has a silkier texture and sweeter flavor than the classic sauce made with almonds. He brushes it onto grilled chicken, but it would also be good swirled into a creamy soup.
A metal cooling rack set in a rimmed baking sheet makes bi-level cooking possible–squash below, chicken above–so the meat’s glaze stays nicely charred, while the juices drip into and moisten the squash.
The seasoning blend called Chinese five-spice adds a warm note without pushing the apples into pie territory, and the apples are tart enough to balance the flavor too. Cooked fennel bulbs add a warm, aromatic note that makes this sheet pan dinner smell like a cozy, Autumn night.
Need a quick one-pan dinner for two? Roasting all the ingredients together guarantees a well-flavored meal and makes for easy cleanup.
Figs get a nice jammy texture as they cook with chicken in the garlic-honey sauce. For crisp chicken skin, resist the urge to spoon sauce over it during baking.
Roasting the chicken and vegetables in the same pot makes for a rich, sweet-tart dish. Serve with crusty bread to sop up the juices.
We’ve streamlined a classic French dish, poulet grand-mère, so it comes together in little more than an hour–about half the time required for the original recipe.
Made jalapeño chilis, this chicken thigh recipe will pack a punch.
Boned, skinned chicken thighs are just as convenient as breasts, and they have an added advantage: Their succulent texture and robust flavor stand up well to braising. Add the flavors of Italian salsa verde–bright parsley, tart lemon, piquant capers, and green olives–for a fresh, fast twist on cold-weather cooking.
Briny olives, chiles, and bright citrus: That’s what you call a pairing challenge. This smooth, strong (7 percent alcohol) golden bock from the Bay Area can handle it, playing up the orange and toning down the chiles.
Reader Christine Datian, of Las Vegas, likes to use lots of spices in this soup recipe. Our version is medium-hot, but if you like it a little spicier, use the higher amount of serrano chile and a pinch more cayenne.
Most people think of traditional Moroccan tagines as being long-simmered lamb dishes. When prepared with quick-cooking chicken thighs, they’re actually relatively fast to make. Fragrant spices give this dish vibrant layers of flavor, and the cooked-down dried fruits create a silken richness.
Inspired by the Philippine national dish, this Easy Chicken Adobo uses a simple blend of garlic, vinegar, and soy sauce to give chicken a zingy boost.
Inspired by Greek salad, reader Marie McCarthy created this dish that’s now a family favorite. Serve with rice or crusty bread to soak up the pan juices.
For a warm salad, have the greens prepped and ready to dress when the hot chicken comes out of the oven. Using two kinds of paprika makes the dressing a little smoky and a little sweet.
Light, fluffy quinoa cooks in practically no time and is incredibly versatile–you can add it to just about any kind of salad. Millet would also be good.
A metal cooling rack set in a rimmed baking sheet makes bi-level cooking possible–squash below, chicken above–so the meat’s glaze stays nicely charred, while the juices drip into and moisten the squash.
The seasoning blend called Chinese five-spice adds a warm note without pushing the apples into pie territory, and the apples are tart enough to balance the flavor too. Cooked fennel bulbs add a warm, aromatic note that makes this sheet pan dinner smell like a cozy, Autumn night.
Need a quick one-pan dinner for two? Roasting all the ingredients together guarantees a well-flavored meal and makes for easy cleanup.
Figs get a nice jammy texture as they cook with chicken in the garlic-honey sauce. For crisp chicken skin, resist the urge to spoon sauce over it during baking.
Roasting the chicken and vegetables in the same pot makes for a rich, sweet-tart dish. Serve with crusty bread to sop up the juices.
Boned, skinned chicken thighs are just as convenient as breasts, and they have an added advantage: Their succulent texture and robust flavor stand up well to braising. Add the flavors of Italian salsa verde–bright parsley, tart lemon, piquant capers, and green olives–for a fresh, fast twist on cold-weather cooking.
Briny olives, chiles, and bright citrus: That’s what you call a pairing challenge. This smooth, strong (7 percent alcohol) golden bock from the Bay Area can handle it, playing up the orange and toning down the chiles.
Reader Christine Datian, of Las Vegas, likes to use lots of spices in this soup recipe. Our version is medium-hot, but if you like it a little spicier, use the higher amount of serrano chile and a pinch more cayenne.
Most people think of traditional Moroccan tagines as being long-simmered lamb dishes. When prepared with quick-cooking chicken thighs, they’re actually relatively fast to make. Fragrant spices give this dish vibrant layers of flavor, and the cooked-down dried fruits create a silken richness.
Inspired by Greek salad, reader Marie McCarthy created this dish that’s now a family favorite. Serve with rice or crusty bread to soak up the pan juices.