Cast Iron Soy Marinated Chicken

I'm going to be honest.  Before this, I'd never made chicken with the skin on before, so I was kind of taking a chance with this.  Luckily, I knew the basics of how to make the skin crispy, so the chicken turned out perfect.  I love to make soy based marinades for chicken because you know you're always going to get good flavor.  For this recipe, I kick things up a little bit by adding other spices like smoked paprika and cumin.

I'm warning you, once you make this recipe, especially if you make it with skin-on chicken thighs, your life is never going to be the same again.  You may think that's an overstatement, but there's very little in life that's better than fresh, crispy chicken skin.  So here's how to make the marinade and cook some super crispy chicken skin.

Servings: 2-4
Total Time: 2 1/2 - 24 1/2 hours (including marinating time)

Ingredients:
1 lb chicken thighs, skin on
3 tablespoon avocado oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
3 shakes of fish sauce
Hot sauce to taste

Instructions:

1. Add marinade ingredients and mix.  Cover chicken thighs with marinade and let sit for 2 hours to overnight.  The longer you marinate your meat, the more time the flavors will have to sink in.  I marinated mine overnight and I highly recommend it.  You'll be rewarded for your patience.
2. Heat a cast iron skillet on high heat for 2-3 minutes
3. Reduce heat to medium and add 2 tablespoons avocado oil to the pan.
4. Pat the skin dry with a paper towel and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
5. Add chicken thighs, skin side down
6. Cook chicken without flipping for 6-7 minutes
7. Once the chicken skin releases from the pan, flip and cook for another 3-5 minutes
8. Remove from skillet and allow to rest before slicing

I originally started cooking chicken thighs instead of breasts when I was younger because I was SO afraid of under-cooking chicken and thighs are more forgiving since they're a fattier cut.  I've had a hard time moving away from chicken thighs since then because the fat gives them so much more flavor than chicken breast.  Again, I don't usually get skin on or bone in, but both give the meat more flavor.  This chicken was BOMB and I honestly ate probably 1/2 a thigh just while taking pictures of it because it's that good.

Stay tuned everybody!  Tomorrow you'll see the final recipe with what this tasty chicken tops.