Chios Chicken Thighs
Category
Dinner
Servings/Yield
4-6
Author
Christian Leue
I love grilling marinated meats. I hate disposing of marinades, it just feels wasteful. So I made a marinade that's mostly dry, with big chunks of onion and lemon that you can eat!
Ingredients
8 chicken thighs (bone-in, skin-on)
4 small onions, root end trimmed, peeled, and quartered
4 lemons, two halved and juiced, two cut into quarters
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3 Tbsp Chios N27
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4 bay leaves
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1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp salt
Directions
Add all of the ingredients (including the lemon rinds) to a large bag and mix well. Allow to marinate in the fridge for 3-4 hours. Worst case even a half-hour works at room temp, it just won't be as flavorful.
Preheat your grill to 350°F and prep for indirect cooking. This is a perfect recipe to make in a pellet grill as the wood supplies great smoky flavor.
Place everything in a single layer directly on the grill, with the chicken pieces skin-side up.
After 20 minutes flip the onions and lemon pieces, then brush with the marinade liquid, and place the chicken thighs on top of them, keeping the skin side up. Continue to cook until the chicken skin is crispy and golden-brown (approximately 20-30 more minutes).
Remove everything to a platter and serve. Everything should be juicy enough that you won't require any sauce, perhaps just a squeeze of fresh lemon and salt to your tastes.
Recipe Note
Variations & Ideas
Flavor Boosts
- Instead of salt use a tablespoon of shio koji to season the chicken. Note that this will yield much more browning due to the sugars and enzymes in the shio koji, so the chicken may appear darker (as pictured). Reduce the cooking temp to 325°F and cook for a bit longer.
- Especially if you are cooking on a gas grill, adding a bit of Smoked Salt N8 when serving will add great woodsmoke flavor.
• I often make this at the same time I make my Chios Potato Salad, they are great together.
• You can also use a whole cut up chicken for this recipe. I recommend starting the breast pieces on the upper warming rack if you have one, as it's easier to overcook them. The wings will be done first, then the breast pieces, then the thighs and drumsticks.
• If you do not have or want to use your grill, this can be easily made in the oven. Pre-heat to 325°F and set up a roasting pan under a bare rack. Place the onions and lemon in the roasting pan, and cook the thigh pieces directly on the rack, letting the juices and fats drip down into the pan. Total cooking time should be about 45 minutes.
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