These inexpensive bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs come out of the oven almost "melt-in-your-mouth tender, and they are easy to prepare. The thighs are flavored with a mixture of tahini, garlic, and lemon juice. Smoked paprika and cumin add even more taste. A simple paste covers the thighs--including under the skin--and helps keep the thighs moist as well as making them delicious! Although you could use boneless, skinless thighs, I recommend the bone-in, skin-on version for this recipe. The bones and skin provide extra taste and help keep the chicken moist. Plus, because the chicken is so tender, removing the bones and skin after the thighs bake is simple and won't require major surgery at the dinner table. We like the chicken with a green vegetable, salad, and quinoa, bulgur, or freekah to soak up the juices. Any leftover chicken reheats well in the microwave later in the week. Enjoy!
Tahini Chicken Thighs -- Serves 4+
6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
1/4 cup of tahini
1/3-1/2 cup of water
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon of onion powder
1 teaspoon of smoked paprika
1 teaspoon of cumin
1-2 teaspoons of olive oil
1/4-1/2 teaspoon of salt (depending on whether the tahini has a lot of salt in it--some
types are quite salty!)
1/4 teaspoon of pepper
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
Spritz a large baking dish with non-stick cooking spray and set it aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Trim the excess fat from the chicken thighs and, with your fingers and kitchen shears or a sharp knife, separate the skin on top of the thighs from the meat but leave it attached (yes, I know, it's icky, but do it anyway). Place the thighs upside down--with the top skin on the bottom--in the prepared dish. In a small bowl or measure combine the tahini, enough water to thin out the tahini to make it relatively easy to stir, the garlic powder, the onion powder, the paprika, cumin, olive oil, and salt. Pour about one-third of the mixture over the chicken thighs in the dish. Turn the thighs over (skin on top) and pull the skin away to expose the meat on top of the thighs. Pour or spoon about one-third of the tahini mixture on the exposed meat, then recover the meat with the top skin. Pour or spoon the remaining tahini mixture on top of the chicken skin and around the chicken. Drizzle the lemon juice on top of the chicken. Bake the chicken for 45-50 minutes or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of at least 175 degrees. Let the chicken stand for about 10 minutes before serving it.
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