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If you have been following me, you know that I’m a self proclaimed ‘not-a-chicken fan’. I’m extremely picky with what I like in my chicken dishes. I am here to that I have officially left the chicken hater club with these one skillet Crispy Chicken Thighs & Sake Butter Sauce – and if you don’t like chicken it will convert you too! If you do like chicken, you will be HOOKED!
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love Crispy Chicken Thighs
These Crispy Chicken Thighs are slowly seared to a temperature that makes the chicken so tender and juicy while also having a deliciously crispy crust. And then there’s the sauce – this sauce is so simple to make but SO good. It’s a sauce that you can honestly put on anything. It’s inspired by a Beurre Blanc Sauce, which is one of my favorites, but this sauce is foolproof – unlike a Beurre Blanc. Combine these Crispy Chicken Thighs and Sake Butter Sauce and you will be in heaven!
How To Prepare
A little planning goes a long way in helping everything run smoothly!
Give Yourself Time to Brine – Brining may not seem like a big deal but it makes all the difference. Not only does it enhance the flavor, it also makes it so you have a moist chicken on the inside while giving you the best crispy outside for these chicken thighs. If you have a hard time with your chicken drying out, this will be a game changer. For this recipe you can do it for a minimum of 1 hour and up to 4 for even better results, just don’t skip this step.
Debone Like a Pro – If you can’t find boneless skin-on chicken thighs like I couldn’t, I got ya! Use a good knife or kitchen shears to carefully cut the bone out. If you want to watch me do it, check out my video at the end of the recipe below and also read My Tips section! It’s easier than you’d think.
Timing is Everything – About 30 minutes before you even start cooking, pull your brining chicken out of the fridge to come to room temperature. This will help it cook evenly and you’ll end up with a juicier chicken for just a little effort!
Prepare for Sauce Success – Dice your shallot, measure out your liquids and cube your butter ahead of time. This will make everything flow much better if you’re not having to step away from your sauce to get things ready.
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🔥Chef Nadia’s Tip🔥
- Deboning the chicken thighs:
- Place it skin side down and find the bone, slice along the sides of the bone, carefully.
- Scrape the bone, then carefully cut around both ends where the bone attaches to the meat.
- Pop or cut off the bone.
- Cut off any bone fragments.
- Chicken thighs with a crispy outside with moist and tender inside → Most recipes say to cook chicken to 165°F to consider it done. Did you know that the thighs actually taste better at about 175°F-180°F? It’s because they have connective tissue that breaks down at higher temp to be tender.
Substitutions and Variations
- Substitutions
- Crispy Chicken Thighs → If you’d prefer to use chicken breast or skinless thighs, you can absolutely switch it up. You won’t have the same crispy skin but the sauce with the chicken will still taste amazing. Make sure you adjust cooking times and if you are using chicken breast you will want the internal temperature to be 165°F.
- Sake → In a pinch, you can substitute dry white wine or vermouth for the sake.
- Salsa Macha → If you can’t find this at the store you can either make your own with my Salsa Macha Recipe or substitute it with Chili Crisps instead.
- Variations
- Alcohol Free Variation → Try white grape juice or chicken broth. It won’t be exactly the same but it will still be good.
- Umami Variation → Add some sautéed mushrooms to the sauce if you want to add that umami flavor!
- Make-it-a-Bowl Variation → Serve these Crispy Chicken Thighs over a bed of rice and coat the rice in the Sake Butter Sauce to make this a delicious bowl.
The Perfect Pairings
A bright and fruity Prickly Pear Cocktail is just what these Crispy Chicken Thighs & Sake Butter Sauce need! As a side you can carb it up with either a delicious Potato Puree or a bed of Syrian Rice. And of course, with every meal a salad is needed, I recommend my Arugula Fennel Salad for this one. To finish off your night, a light Passion Fruit Panna Cotta or Amazake is just what you need!
Crispy Chicken Thighs & Sake Butter Sauce: Questions Answered
Yes, just swap the butter for a high-quality plant based butter. Make sure it’s unsweetened and not strongly flavored so it doesn’t mess with the balance of the sauce.
The cold pan allows the fat under the skin to render slowly. It makes it so you get that ultra-crispy skin without burning it. This does take more time but the results are worth every second.
You can, but don’t. This step really is essential for not just flavoring, but also gives you ultimate crispiness and makes the chicken underneath tender and moist.
Stainless steel will give you the best crisp, but cast iron will work great too. You can even use non-stick but you will miss out on some of the crispy magic.
It’s adorable isn’t it! It is from Amazon and it’s called Winco Stainless Steel Oval Platter.
Crispy Chicken Thighs & Sake Butter Sauce
Equipment
- spatula
Ingredients
- 4 chicken thighs, skin on, boneless
- kosher salt, for brining
- 1 drizzle olive oil
- 1 shallot, brunoise
- ½ cup sake
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tsp soy sauce, or tamari
- 1 tsp agave nectar
- 6-7 tbsp unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- salsa macha, to taste
- chives, chopped, to taste
Instructions
- Place the chicken on a cooling rack with a sheet pan underneath. Sprinkle liberally with kosher salt salt on both sides. Let it sit in the fridge uncovered for a minimum of 1 hour and max 4. Remove from fridge about 30 minutes before cooking.4 chicken thighs, kosher salt
- Pat dry the chicken well. Drizzle a little bit of olive oil on the skin.1 drizzle olive oil
- Place on a cold stainless steel pan, skin side down. Turn heat on to medium-high for 2 minutes and then lower to low/medium-low (depending on how hot your stove is). Let the fat render and the skin crisp up. It will be about 20-25 minutes. About 10 minutes in, I like taking a spatula and gently slide it under the skin to help it release and crisp more evenly. While this is cooking, bast the chicken with the rendered fat, this helps it cook faster.
- When the skin is perfectly golden. Raise temperature to medium-high and flip the chicken. Cook until it reaches 175-180°F. It will be another 5-10ish minutes.
- Remove chicken from the pan, add in shallot, sake and rice vinegar. Let it reduce by half at medium heat. Add in soy sauce, and agave. Cook for another minute.1 shallot, ½ cup sake, 2 tbsp rice vinegar, 2 tsp soy sauce, 1 tsp agave nectar
- Turn the heat off and add in the butter, whisk vigorously to create a sauce.6-7 tbsp unsalted butter
- To plate, serve the sauce on the bottom (to not mess with the crispy skin), top with salsa macha, chopped chives and enjoy!salsa macha, chives
Kitchen Cam
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
