​Crazy Crispy No-Oil Chicken Recipe (3 Ingredients, 30 Minutes) by RecipeTin (Nagi Maehashi)

Bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs are my favorite cut of chicken! Here’s my current favorite way to cook them, with shatteringly crispy skin all done on the stove. No messing with deep frying! Devour fresh off the stove, dipped in the pan juices.

Chicken cooked this way is incredibly flavorful so I usually just eat it plain, sometimes sprinkled with salt flakes. The chicken fat left in the pan can be used as the sauce, if desired, for extra indulgence. Though, if you really want to take it over the top, make gravy (page 326 of my cookbook) for dunking.

To make this crispy no-oil chicken you will need bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, kosher salt and black pepper. 

Cooking Tips

• If you refrigerate the salted chicken, you need to leave it in there for at least six hours. This is because the salt makes the chicken skin sweat, and it needs time to dry out again if the skin is to become ultra crispy. You can’t pat it dry because then you lose the salt. So if you don’t have six hours, skip this step. The chicken will still be very, very crispy. It’s just even crispier if you do the fridge-dry!

• Nonstick is best but it does also work in a well-seasoned cast-iron pan. However, you will need to regulate the heat more carefully as cast-iron tends to retain heat much better and get quite hot.

• If your pan doesn’t have a lid, either cover with aluminum foil or a baking tray.

• Twenty minutes is the optimum time for the skin to become really crispy after removing the lid. Check at 10 minutes – if the pan is still looking watery, increase the heat. If the chicken is browning too fast, turn the heat down.

Serve this super crispy chicken dinner with your favorite side dishes. This is one healthier high-protein dinner you'll want to make over and over again. Read about the health benefits of protein.

Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 3 minutes plus 6 to 24 hours fridge-drying (if time permits)
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 33 minutes plus fridge-drying time
Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 4 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs (8 ounces each)
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• NO OIL!
• salt flakes, for sprinkling (optional)

Here's how to make it: 

1. To prepare the chicken, dry the chicken flesh and skin with paper towels. Slash the flesh side of the chicken along the bone. Do two more slashes on either side of the bone (in the same direction) halfway down into the flesh (goal: even meat thickness). Sprinkle the salt and pepper evenly on each side of the chicken.
2. Optional fridge-dry: Place the chicken on a plate, skin-side up, and leave uncovered in the fridge for a minimum of 6 hours and up to 24 hours.1 If you can’t wait 6 hours, skip this step and immediately proceed to cooking. (Do not leave salted chicken lying around.)
3. To cook the chicken, place the chicken, skin-side down, in a cold, large, nonstick skillet (preferably one with a lid). Place the pan over medium heat. Cover with a lid and let the chicken cook for 10 minutes. The chicken juices and fat will leach out into the pan.
4. Uncover, then turn the heat down to medium–low and cook for another 20 minutes. The liquid will evaporate, leaving only chicken fat in which the skin fries, making it super golden and crispy. Regulate the heat as needed. At the end of cooking time, the flesh side should be virtually cooked through (you will be able to tell just by looking at it).
5. Flip the chicken and cook the flesh side for 2 minutes, or until cooked through. Transfer the chicken to a plate and rest for 3 minutes.

Excerpted from RECIPETIN EATS DINNER: 150 Recipes for Fast, Everyday Meals. Copyright © 2023. Used with permission of the publisher, Countryman Press. All rights reserved.

Photo: RecipeTin

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