Try this Chimichurri Chicken Thighs Recipe.
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- kosher salt
- 1 medium shallot finely chopped
- 2 cups (50 grams) packed parsley leaves and tender stems
- 3 to 4 garlic cloves finely minced (1 tablespoon minced)
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes or 1 jalapeã±o chopped
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) olive oil
- 1/3 cup (80 ml) red wine vinegar
- 6 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs (about 2-1/4 pounds)
- 1 tablespoon neutral flavored oil (such as vegetable oil canola or grape seed oil)
- Carbohydrate 0 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 0 g
- Fiber 0 g
- Protein 0 g
- Saturated Fat 0 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (1g)
- Sodium 453.4686 mg
- Sugar 0 g
- Trans Fat 0 g
- Calories 0 calories
Step-by-step
- Make Chimichurri Sauce: Finely chop the parsley then add to a bowl with the garlic, shallot, salt, red pepper flakes (or chopped chile pepper), olive oil and the red wine vinegar. Stir. (Or, puree all ingredients in a food processor or blender).
- Let the sauce stand at room temperature for 20 minutes before serving.
- Prepare the Chicken Thighs: Heat the oven to 400º F. Rub chicken thighs with the oil and season them with salt.
- Nestle the chicken thighs skin-side down into a cold, large oven-safe skillet. Heat the pan over medium heat and cook undisturbed until most of the fat renders and skin is golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes.
- Flip the chicken. Transfer skillet to the oven and cook 15 to 20 minutes longer, or until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken reads 175º F. Transfer to a plate and let rest 5 minutes before serving with chimichurri sauce spooned on top.
Doubling the chimichurri sauce requires keeping the vinegar and oil ratio strictly balanced at one part acid to one and a half parts fat, otherwise the pungent raw shallot overpowers the herbs. Rendering skin-on bone-in thighs successfully demands a cold-pan start to let the subcutaneous fat melt gradually before the skin browns.
- Start bone-in thighs skin-side down in an unheated heavy skillet so the fat renders slowly over medium heat without burning the exterior.
- Maintain the exact 3-to-4 garlic clove proportion per batch even when multiplying quantities, preventing the sulfur compounds from dominating the parsley.
- Roast the meat at 400 degrees Fahrenheit until an instant-read thermometer registers 175 degrees Fahrenheit in the thickest muscle.
- Let the cooked chicken rest for 5 minutes before spooning on sauce so the internal juices redistribute instead of pooling on the plate.
- Store leftover chimichurri for up to 24 hours in the refrigerator, though bright green chlorophyll degrades rapidly past that window.
Acid from the red wine vinegar breaks down connective tissue while cutting through the richness of rendered chicken fat. Precision during the initial sear guarantees crisp skin without requiring added high-heat cooking fats.
