Sheet-Pan Chicken Thighs With Spicy Corn

Sheet-Pan Chicken Thighs With Spicy Corn

The spicy, salty jalapeño brine balances sweet corn kernels, which roast on a sheet pan alongside chicken thighs in this simple, summery weeknight meal. The chicken, marinated with basil, garlic and a little mayonnaise, stays juicy even after a brief stint under the broiler. You can serve this hot from the oven or at room temperature — it’s equally good each way — and cold leftovers are excellent piled onto lettuce or avocado for a salad the next day.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1¾ teaspoons fine sea or table salt

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

¼ cup finely chopped basil, plus more for garnish

2 garlic cloves, finely grated or minced

⅓ cup chopped pickled jalapeños, plus brine from the jar

4 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels (from about 4 ears)

3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling

5 scallions, thinly sliced

1 jalapeño, sliced into rings

1 lime, halved

Season the chicken all over with ¾ teaspoon of salt. In a large bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, basil, garlic and 2 tablespoons jalapeño brine. Add the chicken to the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes and up to 6 hours.

Heat oven to 425 degrees. In a medium bowl, toss together corn, pickled jalapeños, olive oil, remaining 1 teaspoon salt and half of the scallions (save remaining scallions for serving).

Arrange the chicken on a baking sheet, spacing it out. Roast for 12 minutes. Spoon the corn mixture onto the empty parts of the baking sheet. Drizzle chicken and corn with oil. Continue to roast until the chicken is cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes longer, stirring the corn once while roasting.

Turn the broiler on high and broil the chicken and corn until golden brown in spots, 2 to 4 minutes (watch carefully so it doesn’t burn, though a little blistering is nice).

Garnish chicken and corn with basil, remaining scallions and fresh jalapeño slices. Sprinkle with more pickled jalapeño brine and squeeze with lime juice. Serve hot or at room temperature.

TIPS: A worthy twist in one of the best recipes ever - Melissa’s Ginger Lime Chicken. Mayo is an amazing marinade and the generous salt does wonders - even increase it - an especially good technique is you swap in boneless breasts. Basil and corn is a delightful combo and the kick from the peppers is just enough. Easy to do in an aluminum pan on the grill to keep your kitchen cool too. Delightful!

Banger! This was so good we decided to start the weekend early. Only mod was using more pickled jalapenos (1/2 cup?) and forgoing the fresh jalapeno at the end. (Actually we first tried it with some slices of fresh jalapeno, but found it overwhelmed a bit. Taster's choice here.). Had a simple, cool tomato salad to go with, and it complimented like a champ.

I pre-salted the chicken in the morning, and then followed the recipe (including the salting) to a T.

I love David's idea of tomatoes and will do a cherry tomato salad on the side next time, maybe some warm tortillas on the table too. Unbelievably good.