Chicken Thighs in Oven
Bone-in chicken thighs roasted at 210C for 40 minutes with garlic, mustard and herbs until the skin is crisp and the meat is tender.
Photograph credit: Liat Portal for Foodie Disorder - Chicken thighs with onions before roasting by HaJunkiyada · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · this resized copy is shared under the same licence
Don't Make These Mistakes
Dry the skin before seasoning.
Start skin side down, then turn.
Cook dark meat to 80°C / 176°F for the best texture.
How to Make Chicken Thighs in Oven
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Heat the oven to 210°C / 410°F. Pat the chicken thighs completely dry.
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Mix the mustard, olive oil, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper. Rub it over the thighs and under the skin.
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Place the thighs skin side down in a roasting tin and roast for 10 minutes.
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Turn the thighs skin side up and roast for 30 minutes more until the skin is crisp and a thermometer reads 80°C / 176°F.
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Rest for 5 minutes and serve with the lemon wedges and pan juices.
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What's Going On Here
It looks like a roast chicken dinner and cooks like a snack, and the difference is the cut. Thighs have more fat and connective tissue than breasts, which is why they stay moist in a hot oven and forgive a few minutes of inattention.
Buy bone-in, skin-on thighs, and dry them well with kitchen paper. A thin layer of grainy mustard mixed with olive oil, garlic and thyme goes under and over the skin. The mustard adds a sharp flavour and the sugar and protein in it help the skin colour as it roasts.
Start skin side down for 10 minutes, then turn. The fat renders into the tray and the underside browns, and when you flip the thighs the skin crisps in the clean oven heat. This two-step method gives crisper skin than roasting skin side up throughout.
The thighs are ready when the skin is deep gold and a skewer in the thickest part brings out clear juices. A thermometer should read 80°C / 176°F, hotter than for breast meat, because dark meat is better when the collagen has melted. Rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Leftovers, Reheating and Keeping
Keeps for 3 days in the fridge. Reheat in a 200°C / 390°F oven for 10 minutes.
Swaps and Variations
- An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.
Good With
- Roast potatoes
- Green beans
- Rice
- Green salad
Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Buttermilk Biscuits, New York Bagels, Skillet Cornbread.
Nutrition per Serving
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.
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Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.
First published ; last changed .
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