I love garlic, but whenever I peel and chop it my fingers end up smelling like garlic for the rest of the day. I haven’t resorted to buying peeled garlic (yet!) and I recently just discovered a new garlic peeling trick at saveur.com. All you do is crush the cloves (they suggest using the heel of your hand, I use the flat of my knife) then dump them into a bowl. Put another same sized bowl on top, hold them together and shake. The shaking rubs all the cloves together and somehow their skins fall off.
i heart my savora garlic press!
I guess garlic is just one of those things – it takes a little effort for a lot of reward. It’s so delicious that I guess I don’t mind my garlicky hands. Garlic is one of the things I always have on hand, so it’s a starting point for a lot of my throw-it-together recipes. On this particular day the fridge had chicken and jalapeños. A quick check in the pantry for honey and it was honey garlic jalapeño chicken for dinner.
This recipe is fast, especially if you’re willing to forgo the marinating time. I just marinated while the grill was heating up, which wasn’t very long at all. If I have the foresight to marinate meat, I do it, but usually I’m looking in the fridge an hour before dinner time wondering what I’m going to make. For times like that, I say forget the marination time. The honey, garlic and jalapeños are flavourful enough without the extra time. I love the subtle spice of the jalapeño with honey and garlic.
Spicy Jalapeno Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- 1 head garlic minced
- 1 jalapeño diced
- 6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- 2 tbsp neutral oil
Instructions
- Mix the garlic and jalapeños in a small bowl and divide into two, reserving half of the mixture. Place the chicken thighs in a shallow dish and season generously with salt and pepper. Add half of the garlic and jalapeño mix and two tablespoons of oil. Marinate for an hour if you have the time, otherwise, just go ahead and cook.
- Grill or pan fry the chicken thighs on medium heat until the thighs are cooked through, 20-30 minutes, flipping as needed. If baking, put in a 375ºF oven for 30-40 minutes.
- While the chicken is cooking, mix together the reserved garlic and jalapeños along with the honey and 2 tbsp water. If grilling, brush the thighs with the honey mixture and grill until golden and sticky. If cooking on the stove top, add the honey mix to the pan and turn the heat up to medium high and reduce to a glossy sauce. Enjoy immediately.
Estimated Nutrition
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-Steph & Mike
Can you do this in a slow cooker?
Hi Kristin,
I haven’t tried it, but I think it would work quite well. The chicken won’t be as browned, but I think it’ll turn out super tender. Let me know if you give it a go!
Could this be completed in a crock pot?
I haven’t tried it, but I think it would work! Let me know if you give it try :)
Are these skin on thighs?
Yes, skin-on, bone in. I’ve updated the recipe!
Anyone try baking instead? any recommendations?
I hate having garlic fingers too! I read somewhere to rub your fingers on anything stainless steel (ie your sink), and rinse, and the smell disappears! It works for me – Try it out! ;)
If you’re not opposed to using a microwave, put the individual cloves of garlic in a small bowl and microwave for no more than about 6 seconds. Let cool slightly and the skins come right off. The 6 second time is from my memory so you may need to add a couple more seconds.
I am not big on dark meat and therefore don’t like thighs. Can I just use boneless skinless breasts instead?
I haven’t tried with boneless skinless breasts. I would just keep a close eye on the cooking time, breasts cook a lot faster!
Hi,
I just wanted to let you know that I found this recipe delicious, useful, and easy to follow. As a usually inept, and fairly lazy cook I was surprised out how well it came out the first time. It would have never occurred to me that honey would be a good ingredient, but the jalapeños provided a great balance within the dish.
At first, I was puzzled as to what my side dish should be, and I figured rice pilaf was a simple and safe bet. The two made a great combination, and leftovers were scarce. It was refreshing to try such a savory recipe, because sometimes a box of Mac n’ Cheese doesn’t quite hit the spot.
Generally, I have found your food blog helpful, because of the wide variety and fresh ideas for a meal. Plus, photos of the food look so damn appetizing and I really hate trying to hunt down good recipes on other websites. For instance, if you were to look up “chicken recipes” on the Google search engine, you would get a billion and one results from questionable sources, with pictures that actively discourage me from trying something different.
Thanks again for taking the time to post this recipe, and I was happy that mine came out looking almost as appetizing as the pictures. Maybe not as lovely, though.
Hi,
I just wanted to mention that I found this recipe incredibly delicious, useful, and easy to follow. It would have never occurred to me to use honey as an ingredient, and a great balance is created when it is coupled with the jalapenos. Plus, you can never go wrong with garlic in my opinion.
At first, I was puzzled as to what my side dish should be, but rice pilaf seemed like the simple and safe answer. The results were completely satisfying, and we had nothing left to spare. I was surprised by how much I liked this recipe first time trying it (I am prone to burn food). I have to admit my food didn’t look nearly as appetizing as the photos, but it was better than the box of Mac N’ Cheese I have sitting in the cupboard.
Generally, I found your entire blog appealing, because I don’t have to weed through a billion and one recipes to find a good one, from a questionable source, and it is usually accompanied with a discouraging photo. This blog makes everything very accessible, and user-friendly. The photo’s (and the personal blurbs about garlic in- between)naturally encourage me to try the recipe because of how visually enticing they are.
Thanks again for taking the time to post recipes for those of us who aren’t kitchen savvy! My stomach really appreciates it!