Black Garlic Sauce and Crispy Chicken Thighs

I’m the kind of cook who treats new ingredients as a challenge. I’ve spent years chasing down flavors and black garlic quickly became one of my favorite discoveries. It’s not sharp like raw garlic or funky like fermented garlic. It’s soft, sweet, and full of umami. The problem? Most recipes don’t know what to do with it. That’s why I created this Crispy Chicken Thighs with Black Garlic Sauce recipe to give this unsung ingredient the spotlight it deserves. It’s bold and elevated, but meets in the middle of the road between becoming exploratory and a comforting classic. You’ll get restaurant-level results with techniques you can actually pull off on a weeknight.

PIN IT

Why You’ll Love this Recipe

• Simple and quick, but flavorful
• Easy pan sauce 
• New flavors with minimal effort

What You’ll Walk Away Knowing

• How to add lemon to change the flavor of a cream sauce
• How to render fat to get a crispy skin
• How to dry brine to save time and maximize flavor

What is Black Garlic

Black garlic is made by slowly aging whole garlic bulbs at low heat and humidity, which causes a Maillard reaction, not fermentation, to transform them into sweet, umami-packed cloves. It’s soft and sticky, almost like dried fruit or a garlic gummy. It mashes easily into sauces and dissolves when blended.

What is Dry Brining

Dry brining is the process of adding salt to meat 24 hours ahead of time. Salt and time will allow the salt to season the chicken from within and dry out the skin. At first the salt will pull the moisture out of the chicken and the salt will soak into the chicken through osmosis. As time passes, the salt within will pull the water back into the chicken.

I use dry brining on many cuts of meat. Dry Brined Steak is a crown pleaser.

How to Dry Brine

There are two ways to dry brine. Either in a sealed container, such as a plastic storage bag, or an open container, such as a plate, in the refrigerator. 

I like to dry brine anything that you want to have a crispy skin such as chicken thighs, in an open container. That way the skin can dry out from the salt and the air circulating around the meat. The circulating air and salt creates the driest surface possible, which leads to the best possible crust and intensifies the flavor of the chicken.

I don’t typically measure my salt before applying it to the chicken. I use a three finger pinch of salt to thoroughly salt the thighs on both sides. Put your chicken thighs on a plate. Salt generously on both sides and put in the fridge for 24 hours.

I didn’t dry brine the chicken this time to show you how to do it without dry brining. If you do dry brine, you don’t need to add any salt before browning the skin in the skillet.

Equipment

You’ll need an immersion blender to make the black garlic sauce easiest. Just measure the cream, warm it, and blend. You barely use any dishes. If you don’t have an immersion blender (I suggest you get one, they are inexpensive and versatile), you can use a blender. Or if you just want to chop the black garlic really fine and mash into the cream on the skillet you can. It won’t be as smooth, but it will taste delicious.

PIN IT

Ingredient List

Chicken Thighs: Bone in and skin on. Dark meat is my favorite and you can’t have crispy skin without, well, skin. I like to dry brine my thighs to season and pull moisture out of the skin. You can season right before if you prefer not to dry brine. 

Black Garlic: Sweet and umami. I have found black garlic in grocery stores, but I usually order it online. 

Heavy Cream: Fat carries flavor. This is the basis for our sauce. I wouldn’t substitute for milk because without a thickener added, it will be more like a thin soup than a sauce. 

Lemon: Just a tablespoon at the end is the secret weapon. I first discovered the power of acid in cream when making chicken and dumplings. I tasted the sauce before adding the lemon and then right after and my mind was blown. It transformed the sauce in ways I don’t even know how to describe. Same concept here. The cream and black garlic are fatty, smooth, and sweet. Adding lemon juice adds a complexity to the sauce and balances the sweetness. 

Step-by-Step Instructions

Chicken Thighs

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F and a stainless steel skillet to medium high heat
2. Pat the chicken thighs dry and season both sides with salt to taste. Skip this step if you dry brine first. 
3. Add 1 tablespoon of avocado oil to the skillet. Put the chicken thighs skin side down into the hot skillet to brown the skin and render a bit of fat. Brown for 5 minutes. They need to be a light yellow. They’ll crisp more in the oven. 

PIN IT

PIN IT

4. Remove the thighs and put on a baking sheet with 3 inches of space around them so they crisp and not steam.
5. Bake for 35-45 minutes until the internal temperature of the thighs are 175°-185°F. Let it rest for five minutes. 

PIN IT

Black Garlic Cream Sauce

1. Pour the heavy cream into the skillet to warm it up
2. Once the cream is warm, add it back to the measuring cup and use an immersion blender to blend the heavy cream with roughly chopped black garlic. Blending keeps the black garlic’s flavor intact, while sautéing can mute its sweetness or make it bitter
3. Pour back into the skillet and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cayenne and let warm and come together. Reduce at a simmer until the sauce lightly coats the back of a spoon, about 15 minutes.

PIN IT

PIN IT

PIN IT

4. Stir in 1 tablespoon of lemon juice into the sauce, right before serving, to balance it. Taste to check that the seasoning is balanced. 
5. Plate your chicken and sides and add the sauce right before you’re about to eat.

PIN IT

Expert Tips

The typical temp for doneness in chicken is 165°F. Chicken thighs have more connective tissue and collagen. Cooking to a higher heat allows that to break down for a tender piece of meat. 

Don’t blend the heavy cream cold. You’ll have black garlic whipped cream. We just want to blend enough to turn the cream brown. If you whip it for too long and it starts to become whipped cream, don’t worry. Just put it back in the heat and it will melt.

Don’t put the black garlic sauce on until you’re ready to eat because the skin will lose crispiness. Alternatively you can put it on the side and dip your chicken in it so the skin stays crisp.

If the chicken skin isn’t as crispy as you like, you can put it under the broiler for 2-3 minutes. Watch it like a hawk so it doesn’t go from crispy to burnt.

What to Serve with Crispy Chicken and Black Garlic Sauce

If you’re looking for an appetizer, my Garlic and Herb Olive Oil Bread Dip is perfect. You can go through a garlic journey from fermented to black garlic. It takes 5 minutes to put together and turns bread on its head. Even if you don’t want to make this dip, crusty bread goes well with this dish so you can sop up the black garlic sauce. 

Rosemary Garlic Mashed Potatoes were made for this black garlic sauce. The sweetness pairs well with the rosemary for an overall elevated meal. 

Since you’re using the oven might as well have a side that needs it too. Spinach Squares give a brightness that goes well with mashed potatoes and sauce. 

Storage

The chicken skin won’t be crispy after refrigerating. So either make only what you plan to eat that night or be resolved to soggy chicken skin. Luckily the chicken is moist and delicious with reheated black garlic sauce.

FAQs

I hope this recipe opens you up to experimenting with other ways to use black garlic. Subscribe to my email list or comment below any recipes you’d like me to create and we can try it together!