Spiced Honey Glazed Chicken Thighs

Do you know what I just discovered?  Boneless, skinless chicken thighs.  Seriously, I've been on my own for a good while now.  You add up the random summers and the time I've just spent in the real world and you have a good solid few years.  So how is this the first time that I've cooked the these little dark meat nuggets? 

Being of the dark meat kind of gal variety, it should have come as no surprised that I liked these as much as I did.  True, they have a little bit more fat than their very near cousin, the boneless, skinless chicken breast.  But you know what?  All that means is that, consequently, they have a little bit more flavor too.  And cheap!  Oh boy, another surprise, another happy surprise.  I'm still lucky enough to be considered among the just scrapping it by, newbie to the real world, recent college grad group (I really hope to never get to that yuppie stage) and anytime I can fix myself dinner and 2 leftover lunches for $3.53 worth of meat?  Well, that's a gold star in my book.
 

And not just because of the nice price tag.  These are dry rubbed with a nice 6-spice concoction, and get a quick blast of heat under the broiler.  Then, to top it off, for the last minute on either side, a honey glazed is brushed over and becomes this sticky, sometimes crispy, caramelized coating on the outside.  This crust forms a sort of make shift skin that is almost as good as roasted chicken skin.  I say almost because, really, what is better than roasted chicken skin?  Right?  And the cook thing is, I promise you won't even miss the chicken skin here.  This is delectable.  Hm, you know, as a food blogger, I do believe I don't use that word enough...

And now, we have just enough time for a small confession.  While I would consider this recipe more than big, green cookbook worthy, it already has a place in a real live, actually bound cookbook:  Cooking Light's Way to Cook.  Which is almost a shame, because my poultry section is a bit skimpy.  But nevertheless, bound already or not, this recipe is definitely worth the test drive.  Guten Appetit!

Spiced Honey Glazed Chicken Thighs

Adapted from Cooking Light's Way to Cook 

2 tsp. garlic powder

2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. paprika
3/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, visible fat cut away
4 Tbsp. honey
1 1/2 tsp. apple cider vinegar

Preheat broiler and place broiler pan in over to heat up.

Combine all 6 spices in large bowl.  Whisk to combine.  Add chicken to bowl and toss to coat.  Pat spice rub into chicken thighs.

Coat broiler pan with cooking spray.  Place chicken on broiler pan and return to oven.  Broil thighs for 5 minutes on either side.

Combine honey and vinegar in small bowl and whisk well.  Remove chicken from oven and brush with 3/4 of honey/vinegar mixture.  Broil for one minute.  Remove chicken from oven and flip.  Brush with remaining honey/vinegar mixture and return to oven, broil one minute or until chicken is done.