Cooking Chicken Thighs Is Easier Than I Thought

The first time I bought chicken thighs I had no idea how to prepare them.  I was used to roasting whole chickens, which is one of the easiest meals ever.  How hard could it be to cook chicken thighs?

I decided to stick with the roasting approach.  That seemed easy enough, especially if I left the skin on. I rinsed off the thighs, lay them on a baking sheet, sprinkled on some garlic powder and baked them for 50 minutes alongside some potatoes. 

Dinner was going to be a snap, I thought.  Then I served it and got complaints.  The problem was the skin.  It was thick and tough and reminded everyone of shoe leather.

A few weeks later I tried again.  This time I removed the skin.  The problem then was what to do with all the fat that was under the skin.  I spent 20 minutes trying to cut off as much of it as possible.  Then I gave up and put the thighs onto the baking sheet.  I sprinkled on the garlic powder and put the tray into the oven.  They tasted okay, but no one asked for seconds.

A year went by before I tackled chicken thighs again.  This go-round I removed the skin and left the fat.  I also upped the spices on the thighs, knowing that a good spice mixture would offset any blandness.  It worked.  As for the fat, it mostly melted away.

Easy Roasted Spicy Chicken Thighs – serves 2

2 pounds chicken thighs (about 6 thighs)

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon McCormick’s Salad Supreme

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 tablespoon olive or canola oil

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil for easy clean-up and set aside.

Remove and discard the skin on the thighs.  Place the thighs on the baking sheet and set aside while making the spice mixture.

Add the garlic powder, oregano, paprika, Salad Supreme, salt and black pepper to a small bowl and mix thoroughly. Spoon the spice mixture evenly onto the chicken thighs and drizzle the oil on top.

Roast for about 45-to-50 minutes, or until the thighs are firm and no pink shows when you cut into them. Do not turn them over.  If you use a meat thermometer to test for doneness, make sure the thighs have reached 165 degrees.  

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