These juicy, flavorful, orange-glazed chicken thighs are made in a skillet and have the most delicious, crispy skin. A simple sauce made with fresh orange juice, soy sauce, and honey is sweet, savory, and perfectly balanced.
No Soggy Chicken Skin Here!
Chicken thighs are one of my favorite cuts of chicken to cook dinner with, and I have perfected the art of creating the crispiest skin in this Asian-inspired chicken with a sweet and savory orange glaze.
I’ll share more tips below, but you should know that the secret to crispy chicken thighs is to start cooking them in a cold skillet! Just like when you start bacon in a cold skillet or a cold oven, this allows the fat in the skin to render gradually and slowly, leading to the crispiest result.
Once we’ve perfectly cooked the chicken thighs, we’ll smother them in the most amazing sauce. It’s sweet, sticky, savory, made with simple ingredients, and makes the perfect amount for pouring over a side of rice.
Ingredient Notes
Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
- Chicken Thighs: I designed this recipe using bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs because they’re my favorite. The dark meat has a rich, juicy flavor, and the skin becomes incredibly crispy. If your chicken thighs have a lot of excess skin wrapped around them, you can trim it away if you like.
- Garlic and Ginger: Mince fresh garlic cloves and ginger root to add bright, savory flavor to the dish. We’ll saute these aromatics in the pan for less than a minute to start the sauce.
- Orange Juice: Freshly juiced oranges will give you the best flavor here, where bottled orange juice can be too sweet. You’ll need the juice from about two fresh oranges, and the zest from one of them.
- Honey: This adds a wonderful sweet note to the sauce. If you don’t want to use honey, brown sugar works too.
- Cornstarch: This is the standard way to make a thick, glossy orange sauce for chicken thighs. Mix the cornstarch in with the juice and seasonings.
- Asian Seasonings: If you have these things in your cupboard, you’ll always be able to mix up a delicious, balanced, Asian-inspired sauce! Pull out some honey, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil.
- Butter: A little bit of butter stirred into the sauce at the very end will give it a rich, silky finish.
Cold Pan Method for Chicken Thighs
The recipe below will instruct you to start cooking your chicken skin down in a COLD pan. The gradual heating of the cold pan will give you the crispiest possible skin on your chicken thighs.
- Use a Stainless Steel Pan. I’m cooking in a heavy stainless steel skillet, rather than a non-stick or cast-iron one. A non-stick pan will not give you the same crispy results. A cast-iron skillet can also be used, but I prefer the stainless steel one for ease of clean-up.
- Start Skin-Down. Before fully cooking the chicken thighs, we’ll make sure that the skin is perfectly rendered. Always start chicken thighs skin down in a cold pan. Then, turn on the burner to medium heat.
- Wait to Flip! You’ll be tempted to pick up the chicken thighs to check for doneness after a few minutes, but I’ll warn you to stop! The skin will stick to the pan while the fat is rendering, and will only release when it’s ready, after about 8 to 10 minutes. If you can easily move the chicken thighs around in the pan, they’re ready to flip over. I usually test this by gently trying to pick up the chicken with tongs.
- Finish Cooking. You can generally finish cooking the chicken right in the skillet in a few minutes after flipping it over, but if your chicken pieces are extra thick, you can also finish them in the oven. Transfer the chicken to a preheated 400°F/200°C oven and bake for about 10 minutes, or until fully cooked to an internal temperature of 170 to 190°F (77 to 88°C).
- Make the Sauce Last. If you add the honey orange sauce to the skillet while the chicken is still cooking, it will end up burning in the pan. Instead, remove the fully cooked chicken from the pan, make the sauce, and then return the chicken to the sauce, spooning it over the top to glaze.
More Asian Inspired Chicken Recipes
All Chicken Dinners →
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Orange Glazed Chicken
Equipment
- 12-inch stainless steel skillet or cast-iron skillet
Ingredients
- 4 (800 g) bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs about 28 ounces
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
- ¾ cup (180 ml) fresh orange juice
- Zest of 1 medium orange
- 2 tablespoons (42 g) honey
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon (8 g) cornstarch (cornflour in the UK)
- 2 cloves garlic very finely minced
- 2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger optional
- 1 tablespoon (14 g) unsalted butter
Instructions
- Whisk together the orange juice, orange zest, honey, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, and cornstarch in a bowl until smooth. Set aside.
- Place the chicken thighs skin side down in a large cold skillet. Set the skillet over medium heat and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, without moving the chicken, until the skin is deeply golden and releases easily from the pan.
- Season the top side of the chicken with salt. Flip the chicken and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 170 to 190°F (77 to 88°C). Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.
- Carefully discard excess fat from the skillet, leaving about 1 tablespoon in the pan. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for about 30 seconds, just until fragrant.
- Pour in the prepared orange sauce and bring to a simmer. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring often, until the sauce reduces and thickens.
- Remove the skillet from the heat and swirl in the butter until melted, and the sauce looks glossy.
- Return the chicken to the pan and spoon the sauce over the top.
- Notes
- If you prefer to finish the chicken in the oven, flip the thighs and transfer the skillet to a preheated oven set to 400°F (200°C) for about 10 minutes, then continue with the sauce.
- Serve with jasmine rice, spooning the chicken and sauce over the top, and add a simple green vegetable on the side.
Notes:
- This recipe will work best in a stainless steel pan or a well-seasoned cast-iron pan. A non-stick skillet won’t give you the crispy skin that the others will.
- Start the chicken thighs in a cold pan, skin side down. Then turn the heat on to Medium. Slow rendering of the skin is what makes it crisp!
- Wait to flip the thighs over until they release easily from the pan. If they’re stuck, it means they aren’t ready.
- Chicken is fully cooked when it reaches a temperature of 170 to 190°F (77 to 88°C). You should be able to cook the thighs on the stovetop, but if they are particularly thick, you may want to finish them in a 400°F (200°C) oven.
- Serve with jasmine rice, spooning the chicken and sauce over the top, and with a simple green vegetable.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
© Little Sunny Kitchen
What to Serve with Orange Chicken Thighs
I think that this delicious sauce is perfect over some steamed jasmine rice. Broccoli or Green Beans make for a healthy side dish, too.
You can also try some of my other delicious Asian inspired side dishes!
Anne says
I was looking for a recipe for cold start thighs with an orange sauce and this was perfect, thank you!
Little Sunny Kitchen says
What a perfect coincidence, as I just published this one! I’m so happy you found my site; thank you for leaving a comment and for the recipe review.