Crispy-Skin Pan-Roasted Chicken Thighs with Lemon-Thyme Pan Sauce and Wilted Garlic Spinach

Ingredients

1. 8 piece bone-in, skin-on pasture-raised chicken thighs (about 1.2 kg)
2. 8 g fine sea salt (1½ tsp) and 1 tsp black pepper
3. 1 tbsp ghee, duck fat or avocado oil
4. 4 piece sprigs thyme and 4 garlic cloves, smashed
5. 1 piece small organic shallot, finely chopped (about 30 g)
6. 120 ml dry white wine (or extra stock plus 2 tsp white-wine vinegar)
7. 180 ml organic chicken stock or bone broth
8. 30 g cold organic butter, cubed
9. 1 tbsp organic lemon juice, plus zest of ½ lemon
10. 2 tbsp organic parsley, chopped
11. 400 g fresh organic spinach (or chard)
12. 1 tbsp olive oil or butter, 2 garlic cloves sliced, pinch of salt and nutmeg

Step-by-step method

1. Dry-brine. Pat the thighs dry. Salt under and over the skin. Place skin-side up on a rack in the fridge, uncovered, 12–24 hours (at least 1 hour at room temperature if you are in a hurry).
2. Heat the oven to 200 °C / 400 °F (fan 180 °C). Remove the chicken from the fridge 20 minutes before cooking and season with pepper.
3. Start cold. Place the ghee in a large oven-safe skillet (cast iron or stainless) and put the thighs skin-side down in the cold or barely warm pan. Turn the heat to medium. A cold start renders the fat slowly and gives the crispest skin.
4. Render the skin for 12–15 minutes, until deep golden brown and the fat has rendered. Do not move the chicken; press down occasionally with a spatula.
5. Flip and roast. Turn the thighs skin-side up. Add the thyme and garlic to the pan. Move to the oven for 12–15 minutes until the thickest part reads 78–82 °C (172–180 °F). (Minimum safe: 74 °C.)
6. Rest the chicken on a plate, skin up, uncovered, for 8 minutes. Pour off all but 1 Tbsp of fat.
7. Pan sauce. Return the pan to medium heat (the handle is hot: use a cloth). Add the shallot, cook 1 minute. Pour in the wine, scraping up the browned bits, and reduce by two-thirds. Add stock and reduce by half, about 4–5 minutes.
8. Finish. Off the heat, whisk in the cold butter a cube at a time, then lemon juice, zest and parsley. Taste and adjust salt.
9. Wilt the spinach in a second pan: warm oil, add garlic for 20 seconds, add the spinach in handfuls, toss 1–2 minutes until just wilted. Season with salt and nutmeg.
10. Plate a bed of spinach, two thighs on top (skin up, so it stays crisp), and spoon the sauce around, not over, the skin.

Variations

• Weigh substitutions and recalculate nutrition before serving.

Storage

Best served fresh. Refrigerate leftovers promptly in a covered container and use within two days.

Questions and answers