Crispy Iron Skillet Chicken Thighs

These crispy iron skillet chicken thighs turn out with the loveliest crunchy skin, lightly seasoned with just salt, black pepper and cayenne. Flattening them somewhat with a meat mallet makes them cook faster.

This recipe is adapted from one in Cooking Light Magazine from way back in May 2015. I was introduced to it by a fellow blogger named Christiane whose blog was called Taking On Magazines One Recipe At A Time. It was a fun premise for a food blog and I loved her reviews of the recipes from various publications. 

Christiane doesn’t appear to be blogging anymore, which is such a pity but this recipe was such a winner that I made it the same day I read it. And have made it again and again since! 

Crispy Iron Skillet Chicken Thighs

Christiane says, and I concur, that the secret is not to move the chicken thighs in the iron skillet until the edges are brown. Also, as you will see from my photos, there will be spattering and smoke. If you have a spatter guard and fan vent, use them! Or open a window.

Ingredients

6 (6 oz or 170g) bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, trimmed of extra fat

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 teaspoon cayenne

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon canola oil

Optional for garnish: parsley

Method

Preheat your oven to 500°F or 460°C. 

While it preheats, place the chicken thighs, skin side up, on a cutting board. Place cling film over the thighs and use a meat mallet or small iron skillet to pound them out to about ¾-inch thickness. 

Pat the chicken skin dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle chicken evenly with fine sea salt, paprika or cayenne and freshly ground black pepper.

Turn the thighs over and sprinkle the other side. 

Heat a 12-inch iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan and swirl to coat. 

Add the thighs to the pan, skin side down and cook 9 minutes (leave them alone until the edges start to turn golden.) 

As mentioned above, this is the time to use a splatter guard and fan vent if you have them. There will be splattering and smoke! 

Turn the thighs skin side up and then transfer the hot skillet to the preheated oven. 

Bake for 9-10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Remove the iron skillet from the oven.

 Transfer the thighs to plates. Garnish with some parsley, if desired.

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing country cooking recipes in celebration of National Country Cooking Month. In my opinion, it doesn’t get more country than cooking fried chicken in an iron skillet. Many thanks to our host Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm. Check out the other country recipes below. 

• Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Amish Country Casserole 
• Cook with Renu: Beet Greens Jowar Thalipeeth 
• Food Lust People Love: Crispy Iron Skillet Chicken Thighs 
• Palatable Pastime: Grandmother's Country Green Beans 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Macaroni Ranch Salad 
• Amy's Cooking Adventures: Shoofly Pie (Amish Molasses Pie) 
• Mayuri's Jikoni: Southern Tomato Sandwich 
• Sneha's Recipe : Stuffed Chicken Drumsticks In Saucy Tomato Gravy

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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