The 2-Ingredient Glazed Chicken That Keeps Me On-Budget
Like many busy families, my family eats a lot of chicken dinners. Chicken is mild in taste (for the picky eaters) and easy to cook, and there are many cuts to choose from — we can have a whole roast chicken one night and grilled chicken breasts another. Even so, it’s easy to fall into a rut when relying on the same protein frequently. One night, I searched my fridge and pantry for inspiration, and an idea clicked. In less than 30 minutes, I was digging into sweet and spicy glazed chicken thighs, thanks to the sublime two-ingredient combination of brown sugar and pickled jalapeño brine.
Truthfully, this wasn’t exactly a new concept for me. In my years in professional test kitchens, I often created glazes or sauces with just a few ingredients. The key is to choose one sweet element, like a fruit preserve or maple syrup, and one tangy condiment, like vinegar or mustard. Could you add more ingredients? Yes, of course, but you don’t need to.
What makes this combination special isn’t just the pickled jalapeños, but also the flavorful brine in the jar. If you have ever used dill pickle brine in a crispy chicken sandwich recipe, then you understand that pickle brine is like liquid gold. As a concentrated mixture of salt, vinegar, and aromatics, like garlic, the brine imparts layers of bold flavors and seasoning with zero work. In this glaze it balances the caramelized sweetness of the sugar with gentle prickling heat and keeps the consistency saucy and sticky, but not too thick.
How to Make 2-Ingredient Glazed Chicken Thighs
Mix the brown sugar and jalapeño brine. Stir the sugar and brine together and then set aside to become syrupy and smooth while the chicken browns. If cooking 4 chicken thighs, start with 1/2 cup packed brown sugar and 1/4 cup pickled jalapeño brine. This combination will reduce into a thick glaze, but you can increase the brine all the way up to 1/2 cup (from a 2:1 to 1:1 ratio) for a thinner, less sweet sauce.
Season and brown the chicken. Place four bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, generously seasoned with salt and pepper, skin-side down in a medium heavy-bottomed skillet, such as cast iron, and then turn the heat to medium. Starting the chicken in a cold skillet over moderate heat helps the skin render evenly until very crisp, just like cooking bacon. Cook the chicken undisturbed until there is plenty of fat in the skillet, the skin is deeply browned, and it easily releases from the pan when turned. Be patient, as this can take between 10 and 15 minutes.
Add the brown sugar mixture. Flip the chicken so it is skin-side up and pour the glaze into the center and around the sides of the skillet. It will vigorously bubble up before slowing to a steady simmer. Simmer, spooning the glaze over the chicken to build up a glossy coating, until the sauce begins to thicken and caramelize lightly. This should only take a few minutes.
Transfer the skillet to the oven. Transfer the skillet to a hot oven, around 450°F, to finish cooking the chicken through and allow the sauce to bake into the chicken, 5 to 10 minutes depending on the size of your thighs.
Season the sauce. Remove the skillet from the oven and stir about a teaspoon (it doesn’t have to be exact) more jalapeño brine into the sauce to add some fresh acidity to the glaze and thin the consistency slightly. Carefully taste the sauce (it will be very hot!) and adjust the seasoning with more salt, pepper, or brine.
Garnish the chicken. Baste the chicken one last time with more glaze. Serve as is, or add more flavor with some scattered fresh herbs (I like cilantro and scallions) and chopped pickled jalapeños.
Tips for Making 2-Ingredient Glazed Chicken Thighs
Use pickled jalapeños in brine. The choice of hot or mild is up to you, but avoid jalapeños packed in oil, which lack the necessary acidity, or ones labeled as sweet or candied, as there is enough sweetness from the brown sugar.
Season the chicken generously. The salt and pepper on the chicken doesn’t just flavor the meat — it seasons the glaze by picking up all the bits from the bottom of the skillet when it is poured in, so don’t stop at a light sprinkle. Make sure to evenly cover both sides of the thighs.
Try dark brown sugar. It will give the glaze a more molasses-forward flavor.
Use a heavy-bottom skillet. You don’t have to use cast iron, like I prefer, but to prevent the sugar from burning or over-reducing, choose a sturdy, thick skillet.
Try different garnishes. Everything from a simple sprinkle of fresh parsley to chopped peanuts or toasted sesame seeds works beautifully.
Further Reading
Why People Are Ditching Their Seltzer After a Disturbing Study
The One Cookware Brand That Gordon Ramsay Can’t Stop Talking About
