Lunch
Chicken Fricassee Abruzzo
Lunch
Italian Style Baked Chicken Thighs
Lunch
Baked Chicken with Cinnamon Apples
Lunch
⏲ ~36 min total · prep 16 · cook 7 · 4 servings
Published Sep 15, 2026 · Updated Sep 15, 2026
The ingredient list says toasted, and it shows in a pesto this green. Five minutes in a dry skillet until they smell nutty deepens the whole sauce. Raw walnuts go flat next to all those chives.
Crisped skin lets go of the grate on its own. If a thigh fights you at the 6-minute mark, give it another minute rather than pulling. Torn skin leaks fat and loses the crunch you grilled for.
Indirect heat with the lid closed works like an oven, which is how the thickest part climbs to 165°F without more charring. Peek rarely. Every lift dumps the heat you're banking.
The recipe seasons with half a teaspoon each of salt and pepper and leaves it there. Pecorino is salty on its own and the mix concentrates as it sits. Taste after the 10-minute rest before adding anything.
Spoon pesto over each thigh and set the rest in a small bowl. The olive oil separates slightly as it sits, which is normal. A stir brings it back together.
Set the thighs on a warm platter, spoon pesto over each, and put the remaining bowl on the table for people who want more. Grilled zucchini or a tomato-cucumber salad sits well here and doesn't compete with the chives. The recipe runs 45 minutes, so start any side while the thighs finish on the cool side of the grill. Leftover pesto is worth guarding: it turns tomorrow's scrambled eggs or a plain grilled fish into something you'd order out.
Refrigerate leftover thighs and pesto in separate containers for 3 to 4 days. The skin softens in the fridge no matter what; a few minutes in a 400°F oven or under the broiler brings back most of the crackle. The pesto keeps its color better with a thin layer of olive oil pressed over the top. Pesto also freezes for 2 to 3 months in small portions, though the green dulls a shade. Cold chicken pulled off the bone over dressed greens makes an easy next-day lunch.
Direct heat alone chars the skin before the bone-side meat reaches 165°F. The move to the cool side with the lid closed finishes the interior gently. It's the same logic as oven-finish searing, done on one grill.
Yes, up to a day ahead. The top benefits from a thin film of olive oil to slow the darkening. The flavor actually softens in a good way after an hour, which is why the recipe builds in a 10-minute rest.
Bone-in, skin-on is what the recipe is built around. Boneless thighs cook faster and dry out under the long lid-closed finish, and skinless pieces have nothing to crisp. The skin is doing half the work here.
That's oxidation, not spoilage. Chives and spinach darken where the sauce meets air. Stir it in or skim the darkened layer; it keeps 3 to 4 days refrigerated either way.
165°F at the thickest part, checked near but not touching the bone. The recipe splits the cooking into 6-8 minutes over direct heat and 12-15 minutes indirect. The thermometer decides when it's done, not the clock.
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