Garlic Teriyaki Chicken Thighs

Competition season is here. The first event of 2017 is the Scottsdale Smoke Showdown in two weeks, and I'm ramping up practice cooks with the intensity of a man who placed seventh last year and has decided that seventh is not good enough. Not because seventh is bad — seventh out of sixty-two is respectable, borderline impressive — but because I tasted third at Chandler and first at Tucson, and once you taste the podium, anything less feels like a half-finished meal.

The challenge this year is time. Last year I was a firefighter and a father. This year I'm a firefighter, a father, a CYO basketball coach, a backyard renovation enthusiast, and an expectant father. The weeks are full. The hours are rationed. Jessica, who is seven weeks pregnant and already experiencing the first-trimester exhaustion that turns a confident accountant into a woman who falls asleep during Netflix, has been clear: competition prep is fine as long as it doesn't come at the cost of being present. She said this gently but with the directness of a person who means exactly what she says. I heard her.

So I'm being efficient. Practice cooks on my off days only, and only when Sofia is either at my parents' or napping. I'm focusing on chicken — still my weakest category — and trying a new brine recipe that includes buttermilk, which I think will give the meat a tanginess and tenderness that my previous saltwater brine didn't achieve. Buttermilk-brined, smoked, and crisped. If I can crack the chicken, I can move up from seventh. The brisket is my strength. The ribs are solid. The pork is consistent. Chicken is the variable. Chicken is the key.

At the station, the energy has shifted. Winter is the slow season for Phoenix fire — fewer brush fires, fewer heat-related medical calls, fewer idiots setting off fireworks. The calls we get are the regular kind: car accidents, medical emergencies, the occasional kitchen fire from someone who doesn't understand that oil and water are not friends. I use the slower shifts to cook more elaborately. This week: braised short ribs in a red wine sauce with roasted root vegetables. Not Mexican. Not BBQ. French, technically, though I added chipotle to the sauce because I can't help myself. The guys ate it with the reverence of men who know that good food at the firehouse is not a given, it is a gift.

Sofia can now say "baby" and points at Jessica's belly when she says it, which is either the cutest thing in the world or a deeply impressive feat of understanding for a two-and-a-half-year-old. She also says "baby" while pointing at the dog next door and at a watermelon at the grocery store, so her accuracy rate is about thirty percent. We're working on it.

The firehouse is slow in winter, and slow means I actually get to cook—not just throw something together, but really cook. After watching Sofia point confidently at a watermelon and call it "baby," I needed something equally confident, something that knows exactly what it is. Garlic teriyaki chicken thighs: brined overnight, lacquered in a sauce that doesn’t apologize for itself. Here’s how I made it.

Prep Time: 20 minutes (plus 8–12 hours brine) | Cook Time: 45 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes (active) | Servings: 6

Ingredients

6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 3 lbs total)
Buttermilk Brine:
2 cups buttermilk
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Teriyaki Glaze:
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup mirin
3 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon cornstarch + 2 tablespoons cold water (slurry)
Finishing:
1 tablespoon neutral oil (for searing)
Sesame seeds and sliced scallions, to garnish

Instructions

Brine the chicken. Whisk together buttermilk, kosher salt, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and black pepper in a large bowl or zip-top bag. Add chicken thighs, turn to coat thoroughly, seal, and refrigerate for at least 8 hours and up to 12. The buttermilk acids break down surface proteins for a noticeably more tender bite.
Make the teriyaki glaze. Combine soy sauce, mirin, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, and rice vinegar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes. Whisk in the cornstarch slurry and cook, stirring constantly, until the glaze thickens and coats a spoon, about 3–4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in sesame oil. Set aside.
Prep and dry the chicken. Remove thighs from brine and pat very dry with paper towels. Residual moisture on the skin is the enemy of crisp — don’t skip this step. Let rest at room temperature for 15 minutes while you heat your grill or oven.
Sear skin-side down. Heat oil in a large oven-safe skillet (or preheat grill to medium-high, 400°F). Place thighs skin-side down and cook without moving for 7–8 minutes, until the skin is deep golden and releases easily from the pan.
Finish with glaze in the oven. Flip thighs skin-side up and brush generously with teriyaki glaze. Transfer skillet to a 400°F oven (or move to indirect heat on the grill). Cook 25–30 minutes, brushing with additional glaze at the 15-minute mark, until an instant-read thermometer reads 175°F at the thickest part of the thigh. Higher internal temps render the collagen fully and keep thighs juicy.
Rest and glaze again. Remove from oven and brush with one final coat of glaze. Let rest 5 minutes before serving — this lets the juices redistribute and the glaze set to that lacquered finish.
Garnish and serve. Plate thighs and scatter sesame seeds and sliced scallions over the top. Serve with steamed rice or alongside roasted vegetables.

Nutrition (per serving)

Garlic Teriyaki Chicken Thighs — The Variable I’m Determined to Master