Easy Boneless Chicken Thighs
Updated March 11, 2024
- Total Time
- 20 minutes
- Prep Time
- 5 minutes
- Cook Time
- 15 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 4boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 1 pound), patted dry
- Salt and pepper
- 1tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
113 calories; 6 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 0 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 13 grams protein; 272 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Season the chicken all over with salt and pepper. Coat with the olive oil.
- Step 2
Heat a large skillet over medium-high. When the skillet just starts to smoke, add the chicken flat side down and cook, pressing down occasionally with tongs, until golden-brown and opaque halfway up the sides, 5 to 7 minutes. Flip and cook until cooked through (at least 165 degrees in the thickest part), 3 to 5 minutes.
Private Notes
Comments
It’s a very basic recipe (more of a technique) but olive oil is not well suited to high heat cooking such as this. Better to use canola. Also after you remove the thighs from the pan, throw some broth, butter, and a splash of white wine in the pan, scrape up the leftover bits and let it reduce. Then turn off the heat and squeeze some lemon in there for a perfect sauce for your chicken.
Canola oil is consistently listed as a highly inflammatory food ingredient on every list I have ever seen concerning foods to avoid for healthy eating. And unless it's organic, it's also a GMO crop, meaning it is likely to be contaminated with glyphosate. Avocado oil handles high heat cooking and does not have the health issues of canola.
How does an empty skillet smoke? Doesn’t that mean the stove is on fire?
I've done this non-recipe recipe forever. It's pretty good just like it is, or you can riff on it to your heart's content. My biggest suggestion is to use peanut oil or another high-smoke point oil. To make it super-quick, I sometimes cut the thighs into chunks and treat like a stir fry. The drippings are the start of any number of great pan sauces, too. I like adding garlic and deglazing with lime with a touch of soy sauce. Excellent over rice.
Wow! I suspended disbelief and made it as written. What a great method to have in one’s toolkit! (When I make it next, I’ll be more careful about done-ness: it cooked a bit more than I anticipated, at least on MY stovetop.) Enjoy!
This is super easy and enjoyable. I just used some vermouth and butter to take up the fond and make a little sauce. Very good with potato and green salad.