Chicken is always something you have to scrutinize when on a ketogenic diet. From the high protein content to the low fat content, it’s something that most of us opt out of using as a staple in our diets. But, my question is why? Chicken thighs are a delicious piece of poultry that come with an added skin that you can crisp up yourself.
This adds not only a great texture in every bite, but also the ability to bring tons of flavor that chicken so easily absorbs. Cooking these skin side down in a hot cast iron skillet gets us that crunch we want, and the seasoning on the meat will give us the perfect amount of spice and taste.
The spice blend is a combination of sweet chipotle chile, floral coriander and cumin, and spicy cayenne. With just enough garlic, onion, and oregano to bring the dish together as a whole. You can do this recipe with pretty much any spices you want. Curry powder, Jamaican jerk, or even an Asian style. As long as you’re adding dry spices that can keep the chicken nice and crispy as the skin cooks, then you’re in business.
Let me know your favorite spice mix in the comments below!
Yields 12 Crispy Chipotle Chicken Thigh Halves
The Preparation
- 1/2 teaspoon chipotle seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 32 ounces bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- salt and pepper, to taste
The Execution
1. Mix the spice blend together using all of the ingredients listed above (except for the olive oil, chicken, salt and pepper).
2. Start to de-bone the chicken thighs. Using kitchen shears, cut a direct line above the bone going through the thigh.
3. Using the scissors, cut around the bone until you can lift it out of the chicken. Make sure to get as close to the bone as possible – you don’t want too much wasted meat.
4. Cut around the end that is still attached and remove the bone from the chicken. Do this for all the chicken thighs. Cut off excess skin as needed.
5. Lay the chicken on top of paper towels. Season with salt and pepper, then with your seasonings mix. Liberall coat the chicken meat (skin side should be on the paper towel still).
6. Using a meat hammer, lightly pound the chicken to get a consistent width. You want this to cook evenly.
7. Flip the chicken over so that the skin is now facing you. Coat with salt and pepper, then cut each thigh in half.
8. Heat 1 tbsp. Olive Oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat on the stove.
9. Once the pan is hot, add chicken thighs skin side down into the pan. Let this cook for 8-10 minutes. Do this in batches – half first, half afterward.
10. Cover your pan with a grease catcher to keep the excess grease from going everywhere.
11. After 8-10 minutes, flip the chicken over and cook on the other side for 2-4 minutes.
12. Optional: Wilt some spinach down in the remaining chicken fat and server with lemon to squeeze lightly over the chicken thighs.
This makes a total of 12 servings of Crispy Chipotle Chicken Thighs. Each serving comes out to be 201 calories, 18g fats, 0.2g net carbs, and 9.5g protein.
| NUTRITION | CALORIES | FAT | CARBS | FIBER | NET CARBS | PROTEIN |
| 1/2 teaspoon chipotle seasoning | 1 | 0 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder | 5 | 0 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 1 | 0.3 |
| 1/2 teaspoon onion powder | 4 | 0 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 0.1 |
| 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander | 3 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika | 3 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| 1/4 teaspoon cumin | 2 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.1 |
| 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano | 1 | 0 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0 |
| 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper | 1 | 0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0 |
| 1 tablespoon olive oil | 119 | 13.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 ounce bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs | 2268 | 202.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 113.4 |
| — salt and pepper | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 2407 | 216.5 | 4.1 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 114.2 |
| Per Serving (/12) | 201 | 18 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 9.5 |
Crispy Chipotle Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- ½ teaspoon chipotle seasoning
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 32 ounce bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Mix the spice blend using all of the ingredients listed (except for the olive oil, chicken, salt, and pepper).
- Start to de-bone the chicken thighs. Using kitchen shears, cut a direct line above the bone going through the thigh.
- Using the scissors, cut around the bone until you can lift it out of the chicken. Make sure to get as close to the bone as possible – you don’t want too much wasted meat.
- Cut around the end that is still attached and remove the bone from the chicken. Repeat for all the chicken thighs. Cut off the excess skin as needed.
- Lay the chicken skin-side down on top of paper towels. Season with salt and pepper, then with your seasonings mix. Liberally coat the chicken meat.
- Using a meat hammer, lightly pound the chicken to get a consistent width. You want this to cook evenly.
- Flip the chicken over so that the skin is now facing up. Coat with salt and pepper, then cut each thigh in half.
- Heat olive oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat on the stove.
- Once the pan is hot, add chicken thighs skin-side down into the pan. Let this cook for 8-10 minutes. Do this in two batches.
- Cover your pan with a grease catcher screen to keep the excess grease from going everywhere.
- After 8-10 minutes, flip the chicken over and cook on the other side for 2-4 minutes.
- Optional: Wilt some spinach down in the remaining chicken fat and serve with lemon to squeeze lightly over the chicken thighs.
Looks good. I love chicken thighs. And as an added bonus, you can use the bones with meat shreds attached to make a bone broth!
Yeah, I save all my bones when I debone the chickens and freeze them up to save for bone broth 🙂 If you end up trying it, let me know whatcha think!
these look awesome…can’t wait to try them…thanks again craig 🙂
You’re very welcome Linda! If you give them a try, let me know whatcha think of them 🙂
Made these tonight, the skin side was wonderfully crispy and the thighs came out tender and juicy. My only downfall was I attempted to wilt some spinach as recommended however it came out horribly oily, but I believe that was due to me using double the recommend oil in the pan.
Ed, if you ever have trouble with that, you can add a bit more spinach. Alternatively, you can add some mushrooms and it’ll soak the oil right up. My spinach was relatively oily too, but it was with chicken fat, so I didn’t mind it at all (love the flavor of chicken fat).
Is there a way you would recommend to cook these if you didn’t have a cast-iron skillet? 🙂
Karriann,
Do you have a cast iron anything? A griddle, or something similar? The only other way I’ve found that I can get chicken skins crispy is in the oven. Around 400F for 30+ minutes. It might dry out the chicken a tiny bit, though, compared to cooking on a stovetop.
You’re welcome to try in a traditional pan, though, and let me know how it turns out. If you apply some pressure from the top to keep it searing against the pan, it should still turn out crispy 🙂
I used stainless steel and it worked beautifully!
Awesome to hear Carsen – hope they tasted good too! 🙂
Looks delicious! Question: right now the only chicken thighs I have are some pre-marinated thighs with a BBQ rub that I bought. What spices could/should I add to make sure they come out crispy and delicious? 🙂
If it’s already got a rub on it it might be fine as is. If it’s not all that salty, I’d just add a bit of salt to it and stick it in the oven 🙂
I am surprised that you are still using olive oil for any temperature over “warm”. Check out any favorite resource for what higher heat does to the healthy aspect of olive oil and I suspect you will save EVO for dressing a salad from that moment on.
I love fried chicken – thanks for the encouragement to eat it!
Higher heat will oxidize almost every oil out there. It’s best to use animal fat to cook with, but I don’t always have it on hand – so I’m okay with a little oxidization of olive oil if it results in a delicious meal every once in a while. To each their own, of course 🙂
I use Northwoods Seasoning from Penzeys (both regular and Fire) and bake mine (bone-in, skin-on) in a cast iron skillet for roughly 40 minutes at 425. Outside is crispy, inside is always moist.
That sounds awesome too, Amy!
I use duck fat when I make this dish – ever since I made your orange and sage duck I look for ways to incorporate duck fat into cooking. 🙂 I also like to roast a head of garlic, brown some butter, mash the roasted garlic into the browned butter and drizzle on top. Love the crispy skin on the chicken; it’s also a favorite of my husband. Thanks Craig.
This recipe is the BOMB. When I saw I had to debone the chicken, I was a little bummed, but it was pretty easy. The rub was perfect, and the chicken turned out juicy and crispy on the outside. We all had seconds! Served with broccoli, but I was thinking it would go well with zoodles and butter. I did dip some of my bites in ranch dressing. Delish!
This recipe is so good! I love gravy on meat so I thought I’d try to make some from the drippings verses making the salad. For gravy; leave the fat in the pan, sprinkle in 1 tsp of the seasoning, turn the temp up high and add 1/4 cup of water and cover to seal the pan. Boil one to two minutes to break up the pan drippings. Remove cover, turn the heat to low and add 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream and sprinkle in four tablespoons of parmesan while stirring with a silicone scraper. Add or subtract cream or parmesan to get the thickness you prefer. If the temp is too high, the fat will separate. If it does, transfer to a serving bowl and stir it till it cools down and recombines. I think it turned out pretty good, as does my wife.
Hi, can’t I just by boneless chicken thighs instead of deboning? It would be so much easier! 🙂
You definitely could – though you won’t get the skin on the chicken. You’d have to account for the fat macros because of this.
What is the reason for deboing? Can I leave the bone in and cook it longer?
I just tend to prefer them that way – you can definitely leave the bone in and cook them longer.