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Category: dinner

Go watch Carla’s video and subscribe to her Substack/recipes! I transcribed this and left out the croutons (sorry) so this is not going to be as good as what you’d get from Carla herself.

Ingredients

Marinade & chicken:

  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 1/4 cup Calabrian chile paste
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • Kosher salt
  • 1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 8 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs

Cooling Salad:

  • 1/2 small red onion
  • 1 fennel bulb
  • 4 celery stalks

Salad dressing:

  • 1/4 cup buttermilk
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 3 Tbsp olive oil
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly ground pepper

Instructions

The day before:

  1. Make the marinade: Combine 3 grated garlic cloves, 1/4 cup Calabrian chile paste, the zest of 1 lemon, and 3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil in a bowl. Mix well.
  2. Season 8 chicken thighs with salt. Place the chicken in the bowl with the marinade and combine well. Place in the refrigerator and marinate overnight.

The day of:

  1. Soak your salad ingredients: Thinly slice 1/2 red onion, 4 celery stalks, and 1 fennel bulb and place in a bowl of ice water to “de-flame” the onions & make them all nice and crisp.
  2. Cook the chicken: Add a few Tbsp of olive oil to a 10-inch cast iron skillet over medium/medium-high heat. Once the oil is shimmering, place the chicken in the skillet skin-side down. Cook well on this first side, achieving some browning. Put leftover marinade on the chicken in the skillet. Don’t worry about crowding, you want the fat to render without burning. 15-25 minutes on the skin side, and another 4-5 minutes on the other side.
  3. Make the salad dressing: Combine juice of 1 lemon, 1/4 cup buttermilk, 3 Tbsp olive oil, and an aggressive amount of salt & pepper. Don’t skimp on the salt.
  4. Serve: Dress the salad, serve with the finished crispy, spicy chicken thighs. Optionally garnish with more lemon juice.

Tags: chicken