This recipe has made me officially leave the chicken hater club! These Crispy Chicken Thighs & Sake Butter Sauce are to die for- if you don't like chicken it will convert you too! If you do like chicken, you will be HOOKED!
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!