Making a compound of unsalted butter and the salty, fungal deliciousness of Japanese miso paste is a surefire way of adding immense flavor to a simple weeknight meal. Here the mixture is spread over chicken thighs, which are then roasted to golden perfection. But you could easily use it on salmon or flounder, on corn or potatoes. The recipe calls for white miso, which is more mild than the aged version known as red miso. But you could certainly use red for a more intense result.

Miso Chicken

unsalted butter, softened

white miso

honey

rice vinegar rice

Black pepper,

chicken

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Combine butter, miso, honey, rice vinegar and black pepper in a large bowl and mix with a spatula or spoon until it is well combined.

Add chicken to the bowl and massage the miso-butter mixture all over it. Place the chicken in a single layer in a roasting pan and slide it into the oven. Roast for 30 to 40 minutes, turning the chicken pieces over once or twice, until the skin is golden brown and crisp, and the internal temperature of the meat is 160 to 165 degrees.

Simple, perfect. 25 mins. Flip once with skin side up for latter half of cooking, to hopefully prevent skin from sticking to foil at the end.

Add ~2-4 tbsp brown sugar

Cooked half in oven at 400, then browned in pan

The turn out is a little salty from the miso. Likely unavoidable but something to know. 

We chose to brown and roast the chicken first and baste with the sauce. It came out great with a nice crispy skin.

I used half the amount of miso and it made it less umami. Family loved the modification. Will be on regular rotation!

Would it work to grill this instead of the oven?

This was okay. It didn't have enough umami flavor for me, and the honey in the mixture caused the skin to blacken in spots before it was truly crisp. Maybe red miso, as another commenter used, would boost the flavor a bit? I did toss some fennel wedges in the leftover butter/miso mixture and roast them on the tray with the chicken, which was good. Overall, kind of bland though.

Minced garlic and ginger added to the miso mixture enhanced the chicken.

Followed directions exactly.  Chicken was good but nothing special.   Definitely needs the riffs to add flavor & spice as noted in other reviews.
And the clean up required of my roasting pan was noteworthy.  I don’t like cooking food on aluminum foil so will skip this one in the future.

Quick and delicious. Couldn't find white miso so I used a brown one we had and used slightly less. Still came out great.

I would leave out the honey and add lemon next time, even though this was delicious

For anyone who just has seasoned rice vinegar on hand, don't worry! I didn't realize my rice vinegar was seasoned until it was already in the oven and it still turned out delicious. I'd cut back on the honey a bit next time as it was sweet enough.

The thigh meat reached the proper temperature, but the skin remained wet and flabby. Perhaps I should have put them under the broiler??

I honestly can’t figure out why so many of you like this recipe. Even with turning the heat down to 375 degrees F, everything just burns - to char. The honey is the culprit. How someone adds white wine and reduces for a sauce is beyond me - all I have is grease and charred pieces - with chicken that is not very flavorful. But good for you! I tried this twice - I’m done with it.

I opted to use red miso, thinking the boost in flavour would be worthwhile. After sneaking a taste in the slathering-on stage, I worried maybe I'd overdone it; so it wasn't until I encountered the miso again, caramelized and schmaltzed to a fare-the-well at the recipe's end that I realized the true genius of this recipe. This is arguably the most toothsome chicken I've ever tasted. Five stars: most emphatically.

I skinned and cut up a whole chicken and marinated it in a half portion of the miso mixture for 24 hours. Subbed brown sugar for honey. It only took 20 minutes for the dark meat and 10 minutes for the light meat to come to temperature, but I think my oven runs hot. Turn halfway through. Deglazed the pan with white wine and reduced it for a sauce, and garnished with cilantro and scallions. Served to friends with green beans and mushrooms sauteed with soy & sherry. Will make often!

Skip the butter. Add a tablespoon or two of tahini for richness if you're in the mood. Glorious (and not greasy if, like me, you don't like greasy).

I made this with boneless, skinless chicken breasts baked at 375º for 30 min.  (Could have been less.)  I also added a splash of Sriracha instead of black pepper.  They were nicely caramelized and very tasty.  I served them on a bed of steamed Swiss chard which was a good vehicle for the sauce.  Paired it with Moroccan spiced spaghetti squash with chick peas and dates.  A fine supper!

An Absolutely Delicious, Straightforward Recipe! We found the chicken thighs silky tender and thoroughly baked in 25-30min @ 425 degrees. Hubby and I have already used it 3x in the past two weeks, it's now a family favorite. Suggestions: 1) There's plenty of miso concoction for 12 thighs. 2) Try to slather the paste under AND on top of the skin for a maximum punch of flavor 3) Try using half the butter and line the baking sheet w/ foil.

This was excellent.  If using boneless, skinless thighs, roast at 375 for 30 minutes turning at least 2xs.  Spoon the melted sauces onto the thighs as they cook.  Finish under the broiler.  Easy, tasty--absolutely makes the rotation.

It's been fun to read all the comments on this recipe after cooking it.  I know that Sam really likes butter, but I think in this recipe it's too much.  The suggestions of subbing in sesame oil or tahini are right on.  And adding zaatar and/or pimenton to the rub gives more depth of flavor.  As far as crisping the skin, I used a convection oven at 400, and it worked fine (actually it was delicious).  So I know it's possible.  You may have to experiment a bit with your own setup.

Absolutely delicious. Would suggest lining pan with tin foil, or using a nonstick surface.

Made this with red miso, plus a splash of soy sauce. Added chunks of peeled butternut squash and red onion. Quantity of butter is excessive. I used 1/2.  Needs a bit more time at a lower temp (375) to brown well. But yummy!

what brands of miso do you recommend.  I have tried several and not found one I am crazy about.

I posted this recipe (this looks verbatim) 3 months ago--see below, except I credited the source: the Steamy Kitchen blog. Glad you apparently enjoyed it, too.

Second time making this. Really wonderful. YUM yum yum. Add thinly sliced scallions or black sesame seed to garnish right after it comes out of the oven.

Try this amazing concoction on the side as a dip: 1TB lime juice, 2 TB chicken broth, 2 tsp sugar, 4 TB sriracha chili sauce, 4 cloves garlic, a 1-inch piece of peeled ginger, and a pinch of salt. Place all ingredients in a blender (I use an electric Indian mixie blender and use the small 1/2 cup container--a great appliance for producing spice and curry pastes) and blend until completely smooth and bright red. This dip and a sprinkle of cilantro with cure the blah's.

I've made this recipe several times and find myself craving the subtle flavor & rich creaminess of the coating. I like to rest the thighs for a few minutes after cooking and then pull off the skin and meat in as large pieces as possible to make for easier eating (no bones). For anyone who wants more oomph, try sprinkling the finished dish with cilantro and the following killer homemade chili sauce:

I cooked half skin on, half skin off.  Although I find skin pretty tasty, the result was fine both ways.  So remove the skin to your heart's content!

miso chicken

Total: 45 minutes

Servings: 4

Author : Sam Sifton

Ingredients

Instructions

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