During the winter, our significant other spends the workweek out of town. That leaves us home alone, getting into all types of domestic mischief but also cooking for one. We don’t always feel like making a culinary production out of dinner. Sometimes, we crave something hot, tasty and FAST. Thank heavens for the Instant Pot. Without it, we’d be famished. And probably, grouchy, which—for us—results from hunger.
Satisfied, calm and steady, i.e., the opposite of irritable, is how Instant Pot chicken makes us feel. It’s tender and succulent. It bursts with flavor. The only problem arises with the skin. Out of the pressure cooker, the skin comes out limp. We aren’t fussy gentlemen, but we demand crispy chicken skin. The solution? The oven’s broiler.
Chicken Thighs, Pressured and Broiled
Ingredients
- One cup of chicken stock
- Four chicken thighs
- Two or three tablespoons of barbecue rub*
Directions
Pour chicken stock into pressure cooker. Insert steam rack. Place chicken on steam rack. Cook on “High Pressure” for 11 minutes.
Turn on broiler. After it is hot, preform a quick pressure release on the pressure cooker. Remove chicken. Pat dry. Season with barbecue rub.
In a baking dish, arrange thighs skin-side down. Put dish under broiler until top reaches desired brownness. Flip thighs skin-side up, and return to broiler. Cook until skin is good-n-crispy. If you use a rub with sugar, it will caramelize. It may appear burnt, but no, no, that’s just deliciousness.
*For the rub, you can buy a commercial one. For this recipe, we used this Lobel’s Dry Rub. Or, you can mix your own. Here is our recipe.
4 Responses
I’m asking after a Thanksgiving turkey with nicely done breast meat and tough legs and thighs. This might be a solution.
I hate to argue, but sugar, garlic powder, etc will most assuredly burn if placed in a hot enough oven (or grill) for a long enough time. And it’s not “deliciousness” when it happens. I suggest researching the methods offered by chef Kenji Lopez Alt. He’s basically the authority on all chemistry involved in developing perfect, crispy chicken skin (especially thighs).