You're going to want to marinate this for at least 2 hours (or as much as 24 hours). All I know, honey, is that your thighs will look AMAZING.
Ingredients
4 chicken thighs, bone-in
3 Tablespoons olive oil (I used an orange olive oil - plain is fine)
3 Tablespoons soy sauce or a gluten-free substitute (I used coconut aminos)
5 Tablespoons honey
5 cloves of garlic
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
Fresh pepper
Preparation:
- Pull the skin off the chicken thighs and trim off any excess fat. A pair of kitchen shears works great for this. Pat the chicken dry.
- Mince your garlic cloves.
- Measure all of your ingredients directly into a large Ziploc bag: oil, soy sauce, honey, garlic, ginger, about a half teaspoon of pepper (more if you like).
- Lock the bag and squish to mix. Add your chicken thighs and re-seal the bag -- turn, flip and squish to coat the chicken in the marinade. Put in the refrigerator for 2 - 24 hours. Flip occasionally to redistribute the marinade.
Cooking & Serving:
- Preheat oven to 425. Well-coat a baking dish with cooking spray or oil (the honey glaze is sticky as hell). Note: This takes about 45 total minutes to cook, but there is flipping involved.
- Transfer chicken thighs and marinade to the baking dish and arrange in single layer, bone-side down. Bake for 25 minutes.
- Flip the chicken to be bone-side up. Take a big spoon and baste with the excess marinade/glaze, and cook for another 10 minutes.
- One more time! Flip bone-side down again, and spoon the excess marinade/glaze over the chicken. Finish cooking another 10 minutes until the chicken is brown and a thermometer in the thickest thigh registers 165 degrees.
- Serve with fried rice, or vegetables. A side of bok choy would be a great choice (recipe on this site). If you're making this in the summer, I'd also suggest a side of fruit salsa (recipe also on this site).
A Little Backstory:
To be honest, I had a great first date last night. We stayed at the bar, talking, until they politely kicked us out after closing. I woke up tired and with a slight wine hangover. And the last thing I really wanted to do was cook. But you know what? This is so easy. Few ingredients. Few dishes. Nothing to sautee or flambe -- just squish in a plastic bag. If I can drag my ass out of bed to make a great meal, you can throw it together on a busy, crabby don't-want-to-cook weeknight. Just remember to marinate it the night before, and you're good to go.
Comments