Bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
There's nothing seasonal about chicken. What changes in November is the weather: the first cool evenings make an hour-long braise appealing again, and bone-in, skin-on thighs are the cut built for it. This is the month's cut.
How to choose it
- Skin that covers the whole thigh, not shrunken back
- Pink, plump meat with no gray edges
- No liquid pooling in the package
- Similar-sized thighs, so they cook evenly
Buy this much: 6, about 2½–3 lbs: the braise, with four left for the farro bowls. Four more for the crisp chicken with white beans or the tinga.
Bone-in, skin-on thighs are one of the cheapest cuts in the case, well below boneless.
During the week
- Leftover braise, pulled off the bone over farro
- In the air fryer, over garlicky white beans and chard
- Shredded into a chipotle and tomato sauce for tinga tostadas
On a weekend
Seared and braised in the Dutch oven with leeks, fennel, and satsuma. The weekend dish.
One thing worth learning
Thighs are done at 165°F but better at 175–195°F: dark meat has connective tissue that keeps softening as it cooks, so a thigh at 185°F is more tender than one pulled at 165°F, not less. That's true in a braise and in the air fryer.