French Onion Chicken Thighs

Ingredients

• 1 medium yellow onion then cut into 1-inch thick wedges.

• 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 2 pounds)

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise

• 1 (1-ounce) envelope onion soup mix, such as Lipton’s

• 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, divided

• 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon paste, such as Better Than Bouillon

• 1 medium bunch fresh chives, finely diced

• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

• Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 400ºF. 

• Place 1/2 cup mayonnaise in a small bowl, add 1 envelope onion soup mix, and stir to combine, set aside.

• Season chicken thighs with kosher salt. Place skin-side down in an unheated large cast iron skillet. Place over medium-high heat and sear undisturbed until the chicken skin is golden brown and releases from the pan, about 10 minutes.

• Flip the chicken and sear until browned on the second side, about 5 minutes. 

• Transfer the chicken to a plate. Add the onion wedges to the pan and cook, trying to keep them intact as much as possible, until slightly golden brown on both sides, about 3 minutes per side.

• Add 2 tablespoons of the apple cider vinegar and 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon paste and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Turn off the heat.

• Dollop 1 tablespoon of the mayonnaise mixture onto each piece of chicken and spread all over with the back of a spoon. Return the chicken skin-side up to the pan, moving the onions around as needed so they aren’t covered by the chicken.

• Transfer the pan to the oven and roast until the internal temperature of the thickest part of the chicken not touching bone registers at least 165ºF or about 20 minutes. 

• Meanwhile, finely chop 1 medium bunch fresh chives until you have 3 tablespoons. Add 2 tablespoons of the chives and 1/2 cup Greek yogurt to the remaining mayonnaise mixture and stir to combine.

• When the chicken is ready, if you’d like a bit more color and crunch, turn the oven to broil and broil until well browned and the skin is crisp, about 2 minutes.

• Transfer the chicken to a plate. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper to the pan and scrape up the browned bits from the bottom with the wooden spoon.

• For serving spread the yogurt mixture onto a large plate. Top the yogurt mixture with the onions and chicken. Pour the drippings in the pan over the chicken. 

• Garnish with chives.

Adapted from a recipe by The Kitchn

Urban Cowgill
October 2023