Crispy Baked Chicken

For those who want to know if this is any good, I actually made this recipe and loved it! I followed it as written except that I cooked the chicken for 1.5 hours figuring that it would make the skin even crispier and that I did not need to worry about the meat drying out. Apologies to those who wanted another theoretical discussion regarding changing the recipe or why it works as written.

I threw quartered new potatoes on the pan for the last hour and broccoli for the final 15 minutes. And another low-maintenance, but company worthy, sheet pan supper is born.

I do not enjoy dark meat - is it pointless to try this recipe (or others that specify thighs, etc) on chicken breasts?

If a recipe author "insists" on sugar, that's probably because the author knows that sugar ensures best results for the recipe. Leave out the sugar and expect to see sub-par browning. (The preface to the recipe explains this.)

It makes 4 servings. Using 4 teaspoons of sugar. 1 teaspoon per serving. 16 calories. If that bothers you, there are many other recipes for chicken, equally easy and hands-off, that don’t call for any sugar. As explained in the preface, the sugar is necessary to achieve the desired browning and crisping. Yes

This technique works well with duck legs--in fact better due to all the fat in duck skin which keeps the meat moist over long cooking times. Buy a whole duck, pan roast the breasts to medium rare, bake the legs, then use the rendered fat to roast potatoes and the carcass to make stock. Many dishes from one bird...

I would think if you want to use chicken breasts, use the bone in, skin on variety. Some adjustment to cook time may be needed.

I spatchcocked a chicken, used the recommended amount of dry rub and cooked it just the same. It was super easy and very tasty. I think anyone who isn’t interested in all the dark meat might consider this method.

To make recipes like this work with boneless chicken breasts, you'll need modifications: * Brine them in salt water for at least 15 minutes. * Brush butter or oil over the breasts before rubbing on the spice. * Cook at 450F for 15 minutes to an internal temp of 165F. * Let them rest after they're done.

You simply can’t cook breast meat this much without ruining it. Better to use a recipe that calls for it.

I seldom comment on recipes. But, wow, was this good! I did keep the whole legs in the oven about 10 minutes longer than called for in the recipe, and they were perfect.

I do something similar with bone-in thighs. My seasoning of choice: Old Bay. After 1 hour at 350, remove from oven, change parchment (discarding all that rendered fat), and then put thighs back into oven on new parchment at 400 for about 10-15 minutes. Result: Delicious thighs that taste like they're fried due to delicious skin. And they are not greasy or sitting in little pools of fat. GLTA!

The sugar, slow-and-low cooked, is a big part of what makes the skin crisp up for this recipe.

400* for 40 minutes is a repeatable formula I use weekly

Chicken thighs are the best, and I'm looking forward to trying this recipe! My go to method of cooking thighs is in a deep Dutch Oven (I use a Scanpan TECHNIQ 6.5qt) over medium heat about 15min/skin side and 5-10min of the other side. Never overcooked, and making a sauce after is easy: pour off most of the fat, sauté an allium(shallot, garlic, etc.) if you like, deglaze with a good white wine, season to taste, stir in some heavy cream, pour over thighs.