Teriyaki Chicken Thighs
08
Let me tell you a little something about broiled chicken thighs. They’re the best. They take pretty much no time to cook, are endlessly adaptable, and are delicious as all get-out.
Did I tell you I have a new new meal-planning partner in Zachary? I’ve been asking him what he wants for dinner for the week, and he actually has suggestions. And sure, if it were up to him, we would be eating quesadillas and brussels sprouts 24/7, but he does give other suggestions and most recently replied “chicken thighs!” within 2 minutes when I asked if he had any suggestions. Smart kid.
I’m not really sure why I’ve never made my own teriyaki sauce since it’s super easy. You already know my mornings are rushed, so the fact that I had time to prep these means they take no time, really. The original recipe says not to marinate for longer than 4 hours, but I marinated them for roughly 10, certainly to no ill effects. I also used boneless/skinless chicken thighs, not necessarily because they’re a bit healthier than their bone-in/skin-on counterparts, but because they take less time to broil. Shorter cooking times on already frazzled weeknights are really the only reason to ever forgo crispy chicken skin, after all.
Teriyaki Chicken Thighs
Adapted from Ellie Krieger
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. dry sherry
2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. finely grated ginger
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
2 lbs. boneless/skinless chicken thighs
toasted sesame seeds
In a resealable bag or shallow bowl, combine the soy sauce, sugar, sherry, vinegar, garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes and stir until the sugar dissolves. Add the chicken, tossing to coat. Marinate for at least one hour.
Heat the broiler to high. Spray a broiler-safe pan with cooking spray. Place the chicken on the pan and broil until brown and golden, 4 to 5 minutes. Flip the chicken and broil until cooked through, about 5 minutes longer. Sprinkle with sesame seeds as soon as you remove it from the broiler.
I have bought boneless chicken thighs in many places, including a butcher, and find that so much trimming is involved that it takes me forever to prepare them. Lots of veiny-like stuff to cut out of them. What do you do about all these veins?
J
Hmm, I don’t really have that problem. I do occasionally need to trim even the skinned thighs (whether they are from the butcher or grocery store), but I just use a pair of kitchen shears for that. I don’t usually have any issues with the veiny stuff, so I’m not sure!
I love chicken thighs and have never tried broiling them, I need to remedy this! These look great!
See, if I asked my guy to help menu plan, we’d be eating pizza, pasta, and soup all week.
I’m pretty impressed that Zachary would choose brussels sprouts! Or that he even knows that chicken thighs are different from any other cut of chicken.
Zachary is such a smart kid. 🙂 Also, I pretty much think to myself “I’m so glad Elly convinced me to try chicken thighs” every time I make them. These look awesome!
Hurray! All 5 of us love these. They are rapidly becoming a weeknight staple. Such tasty leftovers the next day. I am having some today in fact, with a plop of sweet chili sauce on top. I plan to get them on some noodles soon.
Glad to hear it, Amy! These are going to be made quite a bit in our new house with our new/longer commute, that’s for sure.