Crispy Chicken Thighs with Roasted Garlic and Mushroom Pan Sauce
Posted: April 17, 2025
Updated: January 18, 2026
Instinct Level 4 – Advanced Technique: Patience and precision shine here: complex steps, longer time, sharper skills required.
Instinct Level 3 – Intermediate Balance: A little layering, some timing, and a dash of judgment — you’ve got this.
Instinct Level 5 – Expert Challenge: Multi‑stage, high‑skill cooking with nuanced judgment — a true kitchen adventure.
Instinct Level 2 – Easy with Guidance: Simple skills, short prep, clear steps — just follow along and you’re golden.
Instinct Level 1 – Beginner Friendly: You’ll breeze through this: quick, easy, no judgment calls, barely any cleanup.
This dish has always been a hit with guests – the crispy skin contrasts wonderfully with the rich, garlicky sauce full of umami. The method for creating a crispy skin is a different method than what I normally do (from Food52) and is worth trying - I was nervous about burning the skin but have not had any issues by monitoring the heat. Although this recipe has a lot of detail, don’t be scared by the number of steps (which is including preparation steps to assist with mise en place). Once the mise en place is completed, there is not much to do except keep an eye on the food and switch items in the oven until it is time to make the sauce.
servings - 1 chicken thigh and ¾ cup of sauce per serving
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Dry Brine Time: 1 to 10 hours
Hands-On Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 45 to 55 minutes
Total Time (excluding brine time): 1 hour and 20 minutes
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Suggested Sides
Since this dish is pretty heavy and rich, I like to prepare lighter sides to go with the "hero" of the meal:
Roasted green beans – Place 1 pound of fresh green beans washed with the ends trimmed (an easy method is to stack on one end, slice and then stack on the other end and slice) on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle 1 teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon granulated garlic powder, ½ teaspoon smoked paprika, and ½ teaspoon kosher salt over the beans. Mix to incorporate the oil and spices and spread the green beans in an even layer on the baking sheet. Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes at 425°F until the beans are crisp tender.
Wild rice – cook according to the package directions. Instead of water, use mushroom broth and sprinkle 1 tsp of chicken stock powder over the broth once warmed. When the rice is almost completely cooked, taste and add more salt as needed.
Storage & Leftovers
Store leftover sauce and chicken (if you have any!) together by scraping remaining sauce into a container and place the chicken skin-side up on top. Refrigerate. To reheat, cook chicken on a baking sheet in the oven at 350°F until warmed through. Meanwhile, heat the sauce on the stove top, stirring and adding additional broth if needed to thin.
Substitutions & Variations
If you don’t have lemon pepper or smoked paprika – it won’t hurt the dish to replace the lemon pepper with plain black pepper. Smoked paprika can be replaced with sweet paprika (or omit the paprika altogether).
The olive oil, mushroom broth, and AP flour may be interchangeable with other oils, broths, and flours. Most neutral oils and flours will have minimal impact on the overall flavor. If using a different broth or stock – keep in mind that the salt content may vary and need to be adjusted accordingly.
Kosher salt and other salts are not interchangeable at a 1:1 ratio (this can be a tough lesson to learn). If you do not have kosher salt on hand, no worries…I typically reduce the salt content by half if using table salt and then adjust to taste. You can always add more! Just use your tastebuds as you go to see what you like.
If you forget or don’t want to roast the garlic in foil there is another way. Peel the garlic cloves and place on the baking sheet with the mushrooms when roasting. I have done this with great results; however, this method is less “klutz-proof” because the smaller cloves might burn. Just check for burned cloves before adding them to the sauce.
In almost every savory dish that I make, I normally like to add herbs and/or an acid (lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, etc.). This is one of the few recipes in which I do not find them necessary; however, I don’t think that adding thyme or rosemary to the mushrooms or the sauce would be a bad idea. If you feel like you are missing something in the sauce, a teaspoon or so of balsamic might elevate the flavor.
FAQs
Nutrition Facts
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* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000-calorie diet; your needs may differ.
Nutrition information is estimated using USDA databases and may vary based on ingredient brands and preparation methods.
The 2,000-calorie reference is used as a general guide. Individual calorie needs typically range from 1,600-2,400 calories per day for adult women and 2,000-3,000 calories per day for adult men, depending on age, activity level, and other factors.
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