Baked chicken thighs, flavored with maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, fresh garlic, parsley and a touch of sesame oil… Mmmmmm. Slightly sweet, slightly sour and so delicious. They are to die for. My kids absolutely love these chicken thighs.
The best way to bake chicken thighs
By far, one of the best ways to make baked chicken thighs is to cook them quick, at high heat. They will lose too much liquid and dry out more than you’d like if you let them bake for too long. This is especially true in case of boneless, skinless chicken thighs. I like baking skinless and boneless thighs at about 425F to 450F. Not surprisingly, this is the cooking temperature that The Kitchn recommends too. Skinless chicken thighs don’t brown too well, even at high baking temperatures. This is true both when baking at 450F for 15-20 minutes and when baking at 375F for 45 minutes. The meat will look pale and unappetizing. The good news is that this is easily fixable. You need to use a broiler at the end of baking.
I found that the best results are achieved when broiling on high heat and as close to the heating element as possible. That’s right. You want to give the thighs a very quick, yet very hot heat blast. This will brown the tops very quickly, without drying out the meat. If you broil on high but move the baking dish lower, the browning will occur at a lower pace but this extended high heat treatment will dry out the meat. This is, understandably, not desirable. Just make sure to keep a very close eye on the thighs as they will brown very quickly. Pull them out of the oven as soon as they reach the desired color.
Looking for more great baked chicken thigh recipes? Check these out:
Baked BBQ Chicken thighs Killer Marinated Chicken Thighs Honey Mustard Chicken Thighs
Helpful resources: How To Cook Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs in the Oven – The Kitchn
