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Roasted Chicken Thighs With Hot Honey and Lime
Published March 27, 2024
![Roasted Chicken Thighs With Hot Honey and Lime](https://cdn.statically.io/img/static01.nyt.com/images/2024/03/26/multimedia/vl-chicken-hot-honey-lime-qhvl/vl-chicken-hot-honey-lime-qhvl-articleLarge.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
- Total Time
- 35 minutes
- Prep Time
- 5 minutes
- Cook Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- 3pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- Salt and black pepper
- ½teaspoon onion powder
- ½teaspoon garlic powder
- 2tablespoons butter (unsalted or salted), melted
- 2tablespoons hot sauce (see Tip)
- 1lime
- 2tablespoons mild honey
Preparation
- Step 1
Heat the oven to 450 degrees. On a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet, season the chicken all over with salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder. Arrange the chicken skin side up then roast until browned, 20 minutes.
- Step 2
While the chicken is roasting, combine the melted butter and hot sauce and whisk to combine; transfer half to a separate bowl and set aside for later. After the chicken has roasted for 20 minutes, brush the chicken all over with the remaining butter mixture. Continue roasting until the chicken is golden brown and cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes more. Remove the chicken thighs from the oven.
- Step 3
Zest the lime, then cut it in half. Add the honey and 1 teaspoon lime zest to the reserved butter-hot sauce mixture and whisk to combine, then brush over the chicken thighs and squeeze the lime juice on top. Serve immediately.
- Different hot sauces have different levels of heat; choose one that suits your heat tolerance. Tabasco will be quite spicy, while a brand like Louisiana will yield a milder result.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
Coming back to report it’s delicious with boneless skinless chicken thighs. I made the recipe almost exactly except for reducing cooking time and adding a spritz of avocado oil to the spice-rubbed chicken before baking.
Prepared with boneless skinless thighs, at 425. Twenty minutes, baste, 29 minutes. Yummy
This also works nicely (with timing adjustments) for a spatchcocked whole chicken. A variant on this from another NYT cooking recipe involves orange juice and hot honey and is also pretty great.
A winner! I brined the chicken with the juice of one lime plus all of the zest, a tablespoon each of salt and sugar, a half a tablespoon of peppercorns, and some red chili flakes. Cooked in my cast iron pan. When it first came out of the oven I brushed on some of the honey butter Tabasco mix, then let it rest a bit, brushed on the remaining sauce and squeezed the lime. Delicious.
Could you just use Mike’s Hot Honey?
FYI, it’s been proven that dietary cholesterol does not effect/negatively impact our blood cholesterol levels.
Make twice the amount of sauce!
This is a real winner - flavour:effort ratio is stellar. I made it with 4 organic chicken thighs (I think they taste better than the pre-packaged industrial farm thighs - no proof, just my opinion) skipping the onion and garlic powder as I didn't have either, used Sriracha as the hot sauce with the butter. I cooked it in the air fryer at 375F for 16 minutes. The thighs were fully cooked. The lime juice at the end is essential - really makes the flavours pop.
Replaced the hot sauce with chili crisp. Very nice.
This makes for a beautiful crunchy, tasty skin. However. next time I’ll marinate the thighs in a similar lime concoction to impart flavor throughout. Agree with the comment suggesting olive oil instead of butter. Because I prefer its flavor.
This is going on my roster. I will really be lookiing forward to it next time! Made it with Yotam Ottolenghi's Crispy Coconut, Asparagus and Green Bean Salad. What a great combination with rice.
Used a little homemade chili oil in lieu of hot sauce. Basted both sides of the chicken in first go around. Really enjoyable meal served with a warm orzo salad of lightly sautéed red peppers, red onion, garlic and spinach. The latter folded into the orzo as it finished last few seconds of cooking. Three generation age span loved it.
Truly great recipe! It doesn't take much time, many ingredients, no obscure ingredients, and delivers flavor far above expectations. It doesn't even contain bacon, nor would bacon improve it (well, possibly in a side dish). Used Tabasco, but for those who don't like spice, I'll use Crystal. The flavor profile of a Louisiana hot sauce is a perfect fit. Don't substitute unless you want to change a Perfect Dish. I did pour some water in the bottom of the pan to prevent scorching. Juices = sauce!
Olive oil is much better for us than olive oil, not just because of cholesterol issues. "Olive oil is generally considered a healthier option than butter for the following reasons: Olive oil is higher in monounsaturated fats, which have been shown to have anti-inflammatory benefits and support heart health, healthy cholesterol levels, and lower cancer risk. In contrast, butter is higher in saturated fats, which have been linked to increased risk of heart disease when consumed in excess."
It’s not the cholesterol it’s the sat fat. Also clinically proven.
I swapped in chili crisp because my young kids can't quite handle the heat of straight up hot sauce yet, and it was delicious!
Needed waaaay more sauce but wowie delicious
Not a great cook, but this turned out perfectly. Thank you!
A winner in my book! I have made this 3 times in the past couple of months. Love how easy it is and the simple ingredients. The thighs are moist, the skin is crunchy and the flavor is subtle but delicious. Higher in calories than I like but I just eat a smaller thigh. Not bad leftover either!
For 8 wings: Sauté 1/3 cup ghee with six garlic cloves Add 1 cup hot sauce Add 1 tablespoon vinegar
Here is my punched up version: Prepare chicken for roasting as per recipe begin cooking chicken per recipe Sauce For 8 thighs: Saute 4-6 garlic cloves in 1/3 cup ghee Add 1 cup hot sauce Add 1 tablespoon vinegar Separate sauce Paint first portion of sauce on skin and underside of chicken continue cooking until finished cooking To the reserve add: Zest of 1 lime 1/2 cup honey Gently heat to mix Paint over chicken with reserve Zest entire lime over chicken Eat
I marinated the chicken for 4 hours in a yogurt marinade. I made the marinade using about 1 cup of yogurt , the zest and juice of 4 limes, 2 tbsp garlic powder, 1 tbsp onion powder, 1-2 tsp of paprika, red pepper flakes, a few shakes of turmeric, salt and pepper. I roasted the chicken with yogurt marinade and followed all the other instructions in the recipe. The marinade produced a moist, punchy, spicy and sweet chicken. Dinner party worthy!
Reduce time for small/boneless thighs or cutlets about half.
Good, but not a favorite. Reward to effort ratio is not greater than 1. The lime, onion and garlic all faded into the background.
6/23/24. Really good and say. Nice crispy skin
Use much more ghee, hot sauce, honey sauté fresh garlic in ghee Use vinegar in sauce
This was a true treat. Goes in the Keeper File...
Did this on a gas grill. Probably more slowly than in oven. It was fantastic! Once with Franks hot sauce, but added chili crunch. The second with Tabasco which seemed to bring more heat. Both great. Don’t skip the lime juice!
Would this recipe lend itself to an AirFryer? I love crispy skin...
Cutting the fat with boneless skinless thighs. You don't get that mahogany color, and the honey never gets cooked on. It's kind of meh.
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