By Melissa Clark, The New York Times
Certain smells are linked with memory in a visceral way, and, for me, one of the most redolent is sizzling chicken skin.
As a kid, that scent wafting through the house meant my father was rendering a mound of chicken trimmings into schmaltz, the byproduct of which was gribenes — golden, crunchy nuggets of skin. My sister and I would race to the kitchen at the first whiff, elbowing our parents out of the way to pluck those salty morsels off their paper towel-lined plate. Being small and nimble gave us the edge.
That memory came rushing forth recently as I was making a recipe for crispy chicken thighs with cucumber yogurt from Devin Finigan’s newish cookbook, “A Kitchen on Goose Cove” (written with Peter Kaminsky).
As the chef and owner of Aragosta, a restaurant on Deer Isle, Maine, Finigan is known for her inventive seafood tasting menus. But these crispy chicken thighs are strictly for nights at home with her daughters, ages 9 and 11.
“When you’re slow-crisping chicken skin, the whole house smells amazing,” Finigan said. “The girls know as soon as they can smell it, dinner’s almost ready.”
She starts the thighs in a cold pan and then sets a second skillet on top to weigh them down, which helps render the skin gradually and evenly. The technique is a bit like that of pollo al mattone, or chicken under a brick, she said, minus the brick.
To test for doneness, she uses a trick she learned from her father, who was also a chef. She nudges it with her spatula. If the chicken stays glued to the pan, it isn’t ready; let it be until it releases on its own. Then you can flip it confidently and firmly so the skin stays in one beautifully burnished piece.
While the chicken is cooking, Finigan enlists her daughters to help make the sauce, grating the cucumbers and dicing the shallot before folding them into an herby, lime-spiked yogurt.
Although Finigan swears by bone-in chicken thighs, chicken breasts will also work. Just make sure they’re skin-on. Because that is, after all, the point of the dish.
And if there’s any schmaltzy chicken fat left in the pan, don’t let it go to waste. Finigan likes to toss in a handful of shishito peppers to cook while the chicken rests. Itap yet another reason to elbow your way to the stove.
Recipe: Crispy Chicken Thighs With Cucumber Yogurt
Adapted from “A Kitchen on Goose Cove” (Artisan, 2026) by Devin Finigan with Peter Kaminsky, these tender chicken thighs have supremely crisp and burnished skins. The trick is to start them in a cold skillet, then weigh them down as they cook. This ensures the chicken skin makes maximum contact with the pan, allowing it to sear slowly and evenly. Although Finigan is the chef and owner of Aragosta restaurant on Deer Isle, Maine, this is the kind of simple recipe she makes at home with her two daughters, who love to help grate the cucumber and dice the shallot for the herby yogurt served alongside.
Recipe from Devin Finigan
Adapted by Melissa Clark
Yield: 4 servings
Total time: 60 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea or table salt, plus more as needed
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more as needed
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced shallot or red onion
- Juice of 1 lime
- Pinch of sugar (optional)
- 1/2 cup chicken stock or water
- 2 Persian cucumbers (or 1 regular cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise and seeded)
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt, preferably full fat
- 1 tablespoon minced mint, dill or basil, plus more for garnish
- Crushed red pepper or chile crisp, for serving
Preparation
1. Position a rack in the bottom third of the oven and heat to 350 degrees.
2. Pat the chicken thighs dry with a paper towel and season both sides with 1 teaspoon each salt and pepper.
3. Place the thighs skin side down in a large, cold, preferably cast-iron skillet. Place the skillet over medium heat and cook the thighs for 5 minutes without moving them. After 5 minutes, weigh the chicken down with another skillet or a plate (for extra weight, you can top the second skillet or plate with canned goods). Cook until the skin is golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. If you nudge the chicken, you should be able to feel the skin start to release from the pan. If it won’t budge at all, cook it for another minute or two.
4. Meanwhile, make a quick pickle: In a small bowl, combine shallot, lime juice and a pinch each of salt and sugar if you like. Let rest while the chicken cooks.
5. Warm the chicken stock in a pot on the stove or in the microwave.
6. When the thighs are golden brown and starting to release from the pan, use a metal spatula to flip them: Work confidently and aim to keep the skin intact.
7. Pour enough warm stock into the skillet to reach about a third of the way up the sides of the thighs. Transfer skillet to the oven and roast until cooked through and tender, 20 to 30 minutes.
8. In the meantime, use the coarse holes of a box grater to grate 1 Persian cucumber or half a regular cucumber onto a clean kitchen towel. Dice the remaining cucumber and add it to the bowl with the shallots. Use the towel to wring out the excess moisture from the grated cucumber. Transfer cucumber to a small bowl, and stir in yogurt, herbs and salt to taste.
9. To serve, smear a couple tablespoons of the yogurt mixture onto the plate and place a chicken thigh on top. Garnish with extra herbs, pickled shallot and cucumber mixture and some crushed red pepper or chile crisp if desired.
Tip
Save the leftover braising liquid in the pan to use for future recipes. It freezes well for up to 6 months.
This article originally appeared in .
