Asian BBQ Chicken Thighs

Try These Thighs on For Size!

Chicken thighs, probably the most underrated cut of the old chicken. Everybody loves chicken wings and let’s face it, for that small amount of meat on those wings, they are waaaaayyy over priced! The thigh though, y’all…they are full of luscious dark meat, the most flavorful part of the chicken. What is even better, the price on them is insanely cheap! You can buy a family pack of thighs for about the same cost as the whole chicken. Use what you need and then freeze the rest for later! Any smart shopper will agree that is a Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!

What I am about to tell you though is possibly the easiest way to have those chicken wings any old time you want them! Let me start out by saying though, if you don’t own an Instant Pot yet, go and get you one HERE, NOW! The IP is not only great for when you forget to thaw, it is a real time saver when cooking bone in chicken. Your chicken will be done in 15 minutes flat, the rest of what you do to it is for flavor and crispiness.

The Asian Flavor Profile

I chose my Asian flavor profile for a reason. BBQ in the south is a staple. Almost everyone I know has their own recipe for their special BBQ sauce. The Buttered Home family loves the richness of soy sauces combined with the sweet of honey and pineapple juices. This combination is popular in Asian BBQ and brings a tangy sweet to almost any protein. Feel free to use your secret family recipe for sauce here but I challenge you to try this Asian sauce recipe at least once. I bet you’ll be hooked!

The Method to the Madness

It’s true, The Buttered Home is mad about all things chicken. I really try to cook other proteins but chicken is so versatile. It takes on whatever flavor you add to it and it’s healthy to boot! Now that I have talked your ear off, let me tell you about how we do these beautiful chicken thighs!

• 1-2 pounds of chicken thighs( 15 min for thaw, 30 min for frozen in the IP)

• 1/2 cup water

• 1/2 cup pineapple juice

• 1/2 cup brown sugar

• 3 tablespoons honey

• 3 tablespoons soy sauce

• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika

• 2 teaspoons onion powder

• 2 teaspoons garlic powder

• salt and pepper to taste

You simply salt and pepper your chicken and place with water in the IP. Mix all of the other ingredients with a whisk until sugar is dissolved. Pour over chicken and water in the IP. Make sure your valve is sealed. Set to Manual or Pressure cook for 15 minutes. I let mine natural pressure release(NPR) for about 8-10 minutes, relieve what is left of pressure and remove the chicken from the IP. I leave the cooking liquid in and put my chicken to rest on a foil lined pan. Heat the broiler in the oven to get ready to crisp the skin up on the thighs. While the oven is heating, set the cooking liquid in the IP to saute’ . Bring to a boil, stirring often as it cooks down to a sauce, 5 to 15 minutes depending on how thick you want it. Baste the thighs with the sauce and cook under the broiler for 5 minutes on each side, basting each time. Reserve the rest of the sauce for dipping. Now you have just made some of the best chicken thighs you will ever taste!

As I said before, feel free to use any other sauce, just make sure when using the IP, you add that 1/2 cup of water to insure the IP comes up to pressure. The sauce itself is liquid but the small amount of water will make sure you don’t get the dreaded BURN message and adds moisture to the chicken.

We like these wings served with Rice and our Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Onions, Broccoli and Asparagus. You can whip up this meal on a week night and become the domestic goddess your family already thinks you are!

Enjoy!