The holidays are done and the stark, cold reality of January has finally sunk in.
It’s the dead of winter.
In fact, for much of the country this year, winter has arrived in earnest with cold and snow (at least in the Northern Rockies) not seen in a while. Jake and I were just talking snowpack as I write this in fact, and the numbers (albeit at an early date for snowpack tallies) look damned encouraging.
One thing we miss dearly around our camp during the long, cold days of January is a chance to crisp up a big batch of chicken on the grill. Hardwood charcoal, perfectly seasoned chicken roasting away, you sitting with a cold beer in hand soaking up the sun…
Spring will come again, but it’s a few weeks away yet. In lieu of a warm spring afternoon grilling, lately we’ve been cooking this Cast Iron Chicken Thigh recipe at least once a week.
You get to use the best cooking tool known mankind, your well-seasoned cast iron skillet, and can produce crispy, golden brown, damned tasty chicken that’ll make winter’s latest round of cold a little less menacing.
Using bacon fat, along with the lemon and thyme, makes it all the better.
8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
1 tbsp bacon fat, EVOO or butter
6-8 fresh thyme sprigs
1/2 fresh lemon, sliced into thin rounds
Kosher salt
Fresh ground black pepper
Preheat your trusty oven to 475 and heat the fat or oil in a 12 or 14-inch cast iron skillet over medium-high until hot.
Season the chicken liberally with salt and pepper and place skin-side down in the skillet, nestling a sprig of thyme between every other one. Cook for 2 or 3 minutes, then reduce the heat a couple of notches.
Continue cooking for another 10-12 minutes until the skin is crisp and golden brown and the fat has rendered; move the chicken and pan around a bit to make sure the heat is evenly distributed.
Now nestle the lemon slices among the thighs, move the pan to the oven and cook another 13-14 minutes, then turn the chicken over and cook another 4-5 minutes until the skin has nicely crisped back up.
Pull and let rest for 4-5 minutes, then dig in.
Enjoy.
