Pernil-Style Roasted Chicken Thighs Recipe (2024)

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Cooking Notes

Michelle

Lovely and easy recipe. Added a little lime and orange zest to the Cilantro and it really made the flavor pop out.

cannedyou

I followed recipe quantities but using only 4 thighs and found it to be the right amount of seasoning and liquid in the pan; so for 8 thighs, I would use more juice, etc than suggested. I also used more onion and they were delicious with rice. Took other suggestion of adding orange and lime zest to the cilantro, great suggestion.

tnwilli

Tasty. Made with boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cooked for 15-20 minutes; marinated the chicken with onions for a couple of hours in oil mixture; will double the juices, garlic, and onions and marinate longer next time; served with brown rice and black beans

Leslie

I reduced the oil in half and poured the oil mixture over the chicken and onions in a bowl to marinate for an hour. Terrific.

Richard

As you said, the photo shows the chicken on a sheet pan. It does not imply that is how you serve it. I don't think a photo of shredded chicken would reveal as much about the dish as this photo does.And of course you don't have to debone and shred the chicken if you don't want to.

Afi

It's Puerto Rican as well.

Molly

Muy sabroso. Served alongside pink rice & beans with capers & green olives, avocado and a healthy dose of Hector Lavoe. Just right for a Wisconsin snowstorm when you're dreaming of PR.

cathy

Double the sauce for 4 thighs..

Jeff

Loved this! I think next time I'd debone the chicken before cooking. The meat near the bones was still too hot to touch after 10 minutes. Working quickly to avoid getting burned (and get dinner on the table) I wound up leaving a few bits of cartilage in the chopped chicken mixture. I'm sure there's some flavor drawn out of the bones during cooking but it wasn't worth the hassle.

Jon Bernardo

Double the onions and the sauce components. For oregano, use 1TBSP dried.

corynne

I let the chicken marinade for 1-2 hours. I added sliced garlic and a sliced jalapeño to the oil and citrus. I also pat the chicken very dry and seasoned with Goya adobo as well as salt and pepper then placed in bag w marinade. It turned out very delish with a 35 minute roast at 450!

Brushjl

Delicious. I love chicken thighs. Great seasoning.

elizabeth

Added zest as well and cooked atop steamed sushi rice for an added sticky rice twist. SO good!!

Keith

The recipe calls for cilantro besides what you need for garnish but never says where it belongs (I assumed in the oil). We served it over rice and some lime and sauzon seasoning amped up the flavor quite a bit. It took it from good to very good.

RCook2009

I cooked exactly according to recipe and it was very tasty. Next time I will double the marinade for 8 thighs but still was tasty. I served with rice, beans and a chopped salad. Family ate every bit!

Maria S.

Off the charts delicious! I had to omit the cilantro and substitute parsley. I used smaller amount of dried oregano instead of fresh. Threw some cubed potatoes onto the sheet pan to soak up the juices alongside the onion. Served with salad and bread. This will go into regular rotation.

Ruas

This recipe is perfection! Easy, quick, delicious!

Peter

This was tasty, but way overcooked and there was no sauce left. Next time, I'll use more juice and cook for less time.

Cibele

I made it exactly like the recipe suggests and it turned out scrumptious! My husband, who is hard to please, had one comment: "Did you keep this recipe?"

Harry

So the skin gets tossed with the bones?

Cibele

No! Please, do not toss the skin with the bones. The skin becomes crunchy and is delicious...

helen

This dish was blander than expected - the chicken didn’t soak up the sauce and the cook time should definitely be more like 35 mins. Adding capers tied it together but I probably wouldn’t make it again

Amanda Beresford

Juicy chicken and a nice if somewhat elusive flavour, but the recipe quantities don't give enough juice since it mainly burned onto the pan. 40 minutes wasn't long enough to crisp the chicken and cook it through, hence the burned juices. Next time, I will try more citrus, onion, and adding zest as some readers suggest. I agree that marinating for an hour or so beforehand would help to intensify the flavour.

Genie

Not as wonderful as all that. Just ok. Too sweet and dry with amounts in the recipe. I’d add some red pepper (as I did) to jazz it up. I think it also needs more juice and oil to keep it moist.

Phein64

Chicken was excellent. I threw in a pair of B/S breasts for the spouse, who won't eat thighs. Next time, I would probably cook at 375 or 400 for the 40 minutes. At 425, it was at 175 degrees in 30 minutes, which is great for the thighs, not so great for the breasts.

Frankie

Would this recipe work as well if you left the thighs whole rather than chopping the chicken?

Sherrypi

This is a spectacular recipe. I’ve made it several times and it’s always delicious. The only changes I have made is substituting boneless skinless thighs, Meyer lemon for the orange juice, and I marinate it several hours or overnight. Goes with everything.

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Pernil-Style Roasted Chicken Thighs Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Do chicken thighs get more tender the longer you cook them? ›

Unlike chicken breasts, chicken thighs and drumsticks actually become more tender the longer they cook. That's because of their makeup. Dark meat has an abundant amount of connective tissue, which dissolves into gelatin as the meat cooks, rendering it juicy and tender.

Is it better to bake chicken thighs at 350 or 400? ›

I recommend baking the chicken thighs at 400 degrees for less time to ensure the chicken thighs stay nice and juicy, vs baking for longer at 350 degrees and running the risk of drying them out.

Do you bake chicken thighs covered or uncovered? ›

But I know you are wondering– should you cover chicken thighs when they are baking? The simple answer is, no. We don't cover our skin-on chicken thighs because we want that skin to get nice and crispy!

At what temp are chicken thighs most tender? ›

While leg and thigh meat are still safe at 165 degrees F, it is recommended to cook your chicken until the internal temperature reaches about 170-175 degrees F. Chicken legs consist of actively worked muscles and the meat is tougher because of it. The higher temperature helps break down muscles.

Can you overcook chicken thighs in the oven? ›

The sweet spot for chicken thighs is between 175 and 195 degrees Fahrenheit, which is a little higher than the 165 degrees recommended for white meat. If dark meat is cooked to more than 210 degrees Fahrenheit it will start to dry out and get stringy.

Should chicken thighs be room temperature before baking? ›

Allow the chicken thighs to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes. Cold meat in a hot oven or hot pan will cook unevenly and be tough.

How long do thighs take to cook at 350? ›

The USDA guidelines lists approximate cooking times of 40 to 50 minutes for 4-to-8-ounce chicken thighs roasted at 350 degrees. In our basic meal prep boneless chicken thighs recipe, they take about 25 to 30 minutes baked at 425 degrees F.

Should I flip chicken thighs when baking? ›

Bake chicken thighs skin side down first.

The side that touches the pan last will be a bit less crispy than the side facing up, so I always start skin side down and then flip after 10 minutes.

How do you bake Rachael Ray chicken thighs? ›

Pat the chicken thighs dry with paper towels and allow to come to room temperature (about 20 minutes). Spray with the EVOO cooking spray and season with salt and pepper. Bake until the skin is golden brown and crispy, 25 to 30 minutes, and a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part reads 165 °F.

Can chicken thighs be a little pink? ›

Safely cooked poultry can vary in color from white to pink to tan. All poultry should reach a safe minimum internal temperature of 165 °F (73.9°C) as measured with a food thermometer. For whole poultry, check the internal temperature in the innermost part of the thigh and wing and the thickest part of the breast.

Should you wash chicken thighs before you bake them? ›

"We didn't mean to get you all hot about not washing your chicken!" the CDC wrote in a follow-up tweet. "But it's true: kill germs by cooking chicken thoroughly, not washing it. You shouldn't wash any poultry, meat, or eggs before cooking. They can all spread germs around your kitchen.

Do you cook chicken thighs fat side up or down? ›

Coat the pan in about 2 teaspoons of olive oil, and then put the thighs skin-side down on the pan. The point here isn't to cook the thighs through, you'll do that in the oven later. You want all the lovely chicken fat to gently, gradually render, giving the skin that crispiness we crave.

Should I salt chicken thighs before cooking? ›

Though many cookbooks rightly warn you never salt meat or poultry right before you put it in the oven– because the salt will draw out the juices and make it dry and tough–the opposite occurs when you salt well in advance of cooking. It all has to do with the behavior of proteins and cell osmosis.

Does chicken get softer the longer you cook it? ›

Yes, chicken breast will become softer and more tender the longer it is cooked, provided it is cooked at a low enough temperature. If it is cooked at too high of a temperature, the chicken breast will become dry and tough.

Do chicken thighs with bones take longer to cook? ›

Keep in mind that bone-in chicken thighs will take longer to cook than boneless chicken thighs, however, this method works well for all three types of chicken thighs you can purchase.

How do you keep chicken thighs from being chewy? ›

Rendering the fat from the skin to make it crispy rather than chewy takes longer than just waiting for a change in color. Give it 10-15 minutes per side. Keep it from getting too dark by using low heat.

Does cooking chicken too long make it tough? ›

The best way to do this is to cook it to the proper temperature. Overcooking leads to dry, tough, sawdusty meat with nearly no flavor. High doneness temperature for food safety. Salmonella is the food safety enemy in chicken that dies only at higher temperatures.

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