Crispy Maple Garlic Chicken Thighs with Kale Salad & Schmaltzy Croutons

episode #108 of 30-minute budget meals

Happy Sunday! We’ve mostly been chilling this weekend. We took Sagan to music class yesterday, and then we headed over to Pasadena to run some errands, and while we were there, we got two of our faves, Salt and Straw and Kazu Nori. Today, I’m treating myself to a barre class, and then I’m going to get back to work on some more cookbook recipes! I’ve been testing the same few over and over again, and although I know that testing and re-testing is part of the process, it frustrates me when I feel like I don’t have forward momentum. On the bright side, we are entering my favorite season of produce, and we finally made it to the farmer’s market last weekend!

Now onto the recipe. I love using chicken thighs in this 30-minute series because they’re definitely more budget-friendly AND they happen to be very tasty. I just discovered my new favorite way to make chicken thighs thanks to Ali Slagle, and it’s incredibly easy and low-maintenance. The result is a juicy chicken with a crispy skin, and the method she uses is the same method I use to make crispy bacon. You add the chicken thighs to a cold skillet and then turn the heat on, which allows the fat from the skin to render, leading to that crispy, golden exterior as the chicken cooks in its own fat.

I used some of the remaining schmaltz fry up some garlic and then create a little sauce for the chicken using maple syrup, but then I also threw in some torn bread that gets coated in the sauce and tossed into a side salad.

I made this recipe twice, the first time using brown sugar, which was a no-go because it burned in the pan, so I made it a second time with maple syrup, which turned out better.

This recipe won’t work the same with boneless skinless chicken thighs, so make sure you get bone-in, skin-on!

RECIPE!

Crispy Maple Garlic Chicken Thighs with Kale Salad & Schmaltzy Croutons

Ingredients (serves 2)