5 Star Chicken Thigh Food

SUNNY'S 5-STAR GLAZED CHICKEN

Steps:

• For the marinade/glaze: In a small pot on medium heat, whisk together the honey, miso, orange juice, a shake or two of chili flakes and plenty of coarse ground pepper. Cook, whisking, until everything is combined and the liquid reduces and thickens a bit to a glaze consistency, 6 to 8 minutes. Let cool to room temperature.
• For the chicken: Pour half of the marinade into a resealable plastic bag; reserve the other half for glazing. Add the chicken parts to the bag with the marinade and seal. Rest the chicken at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours.
• When ready to grill, preheat a grill pan or half of a grill to medium heat.
• Remove the chicken from the bag and pat dry with paper towels. Place on the indirect heat of the grill, skin-side down, and cook, covered, until the chicken easily releases from the grill, about 15 minutes. Then flip and grill on the other side until cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes more. In the last minute of grilling, brush each piece of chicken with a bit of the reserved glaze.

CRISPY GRILL PAN CHICKEN THIGHS

Steps:

• Pat the chicken with paper towels until very dry; transfer to a plate or baking sheet. Brush the chicken thighs all over with 1 tablespoon oil.
• Heat a large cast-iron grill pan over medium heat. Stir together the salt, paprika, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, lemon pepper seasoning and cayenne in a small bowl. Sprinkle the chicken all over with the spice mixture.
• Brush the grill pan with the remaining 1 teaspoon oil. Add the chicken thighs to the grill pan skin-side down. Cook, rotating the pan on the burner several times to ensure even browning, until the skin has deep-brown grill marks (check the underside by gently lifting up each thigh with tongs), 10 to 12 minutes. Rotate each chicken thigh 90 degrees and continue grilling until deep brown crosshatch marks are visible and the skin is quite brown all over, about 5 minutes.
• Flip the chicken thighs over and grill the flesh side until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh (near but not touching bone) registers 160 degrees F, 6 to 9 minutes. Let the thighs rest 5 minutes before serving.