Cooking crispy skin chicken thighs

I have always browned meat when frying or sauteing in a hot pan in hot fat. Last night, I tried out an alternative method that is described in this Bon Appetit recipe: Start the chicken thighs, skin-side down, in a cold pan, in cold oil. Wonderful crispy chicken skin is promised. Does it work? Yes, yes it does!

I used my All-Clad 12-in. skillet and cooked, as directed, for 11 minutes from the time I turned on the medium flame. The chicken skin was medium brown and very crispy. I might even have cooked it a minute or two longer. Some commenters said their chicken stuck, but I found mine came pretty cleanly away with a good underneath push on the spatula. YMMV.

The vegetable mix was good, but I could see trying some other combinations besides fennel, lemon, and tomato.

Has anyone used this method? Am I behind the times (yet again)?

Oh, you don't even need the oil if you use a non-stick skillet.

The BA recipe is really a riff (being nice here) of Jaque Pepin's crispy chicken thighs. Recipe here: https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2009/08/jacques-pepin-crusty-chicken-with-mushrooms-white-wine-sauce-recipe.html

I can't find the video on YouTube any more but here's a good example of the technique: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCKY1nO5U0Q

Here's the original episode that contained the recipe:
https://www.kqed.org/w/morefastfoodmywa ... de210.html

And yes, it works wonderfully. The amount of fat that comes out of a skin-on chicken thigh can be quite astonishing.

FYI,
Dave

I now know what I'm going to try next time I cook some of the (many) skin-on chicken thighs we have in the freezer.

BadgerDave wrote:Oh, you don't even need the oil if you use a non-stick skillet.

Thanks for the history of the technique. I thought I would get more of the crispy if I didn't use a non-stick pan. Given that I used an uncoated stainless steel pan, I did use some olive oil.

EvA wrote:

BadgerDave wrote:Oh, you don't even need the oil if you use a non-stick skillet.

Thanks for the history of the technique. I thought I would get more of the crispy if I didn't use a non-stick pan. Given that I used an uncoated stainless steel pan, I did use some olive oil.

I need to try this technique with either a stainless or cast iron pan just to see the difference, but I can't imagine anything can be any more crisp than the original Pepin recipe. The original recipe, with the onions and mushrooms, is quite good. I've repurposed the technique and when it comes time for the "flip" I'll dunk it in Buffalo wing sauce before dropping it back into a skillet (sans mushrooms and onions). Makes for a great low carb chicken dish.

FYI,
Dave