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.

Chicken thighs can be baked anywhere between 350 and 425 degrees, but at 400 or 425 degrees, they have enough time to get super tender while still having the heat they need to crisp up the skin. Should you cover chicken thighs in the oven? For baking, it is not necessary to cover chicken thighs.

The best oven baked chicken thighs start with seasoning! A blend of garlic powder, paprika, onion powder, salt and fresh cracked pepper brightens up plain old chicken thighs and adds wow-worthy flavor. But I know you are wondering– should you cover chicken thighs when they are baking? The simple answer is, no.

Since they have a higher fat content and retain moisture during cooking, it's more difficult to overcook chicken thighs than it is to overcook chicken breasts. Particularly if you buy bone-in chicken thighs, they mostly just fall off of the bone if you leave them in the oven too long!

For the ultimate juicy and tender chicken thigh experience, aim for an internal temp between 175 and 185 F. Any temperature higher than that can dry out or burn your meat, but the perfect 175° to 185° range will get you well above the minimum safe temperature and maximize the poultry's flavor potential.

While chicken thighs only need to be cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees as read by a meat thermometer, I recommend you bake them until they reach 180 – 190 degrees. This takes 30-40 minutes at 400 degrees. We swear by this Thermapen for taking accurate internal temperature readings.

To bake juicy chicken thighs in the oven that have crispy skin you first need to let them sit at room temperature for 20 minutes. Cold chicken in a hot oven will cook unevenly and the meat will be tough. To help the skin get crispy, pat the moisture off the skin with paper towels.

Cook the Thighs, Respectfully

Start by generously seasoning the meat with salt and searing the outside of the thigh (yes, the skin) in a cast-iron skillet with some oil. Start skin side down. Don't overcrowd the pan, and cook in batches if needed or you'll end up with soggy thighs.

Place the chicken on a rimmed baking sheet and roast until golden, about 25 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 165 degrees F.

If you started in a warm / hot pan, the fat won't completely render out of the skin. Only flip once the skin is dark golden brown. The skin will naturally release from the pan once it is ready to be flipped, don't force it. Cook the thighs to 175*F MINIMUM.

Why put foil over chicken in oven? ›

When chicken is covered while baking, it traps steam and moisture within the dish, resulting in juicier results. The covering helps prevent excessive evaporation and keeps the chicken moist throughout the cooking process. Preventing dryness. Chicken tends to dry out more quickly when exposed to direct heat.

While the breast is very low in fat, chicken thighs are higher in fat, and in cooking, fat equals flavor. It also means the thighs are more tender and less likely to dry out than chicken breasts—in other words, they are very easy to cook and very difficult to ruin.

Low and slow cooking methods like braising, stewing, or smoking are most effective when trying to create tender, succulent chicken.

It's easy to throw in an Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup or shred it in Healthy Chicken Enchiladas. Rubbery chicken is usually an indicator of overcooked chicken. The longer the chicken cooks, the more moisture it loses, and without moisture, the protein fibers become elastic, AKA rubbery.

You can roast or bake anywhere between 325 and 450 degrees F. When roasting a whole chicken, a nice rule of them is to start at 400 to 425 degrees F and then turn the oven down to 350 after 15 minutes and cook until the internal temp of the chicken is 165 – 175 degrees F on an instant read thermometer.

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.

Dark meat, found in chicken thighs, is inherently richer and juicier than its white counterpart. This is due to the higher fat content and the presence of more connective tissue. Consequently, it's a culinary truth that dark meat requires more time to cook compared to leaner white meat.

Because dark meat contains more tendons, chicken thighs are a tough cut, but because they contain more fat than white meat, they become tender and juicy when cooked properly. They also boast more flavor than white meat.