Miso Chicken

By Sam Sifton

Updated Aug. 8, 2024

Miso Chicken
Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Simon Andrews.
Total Time
45 minutes
Rating
5(12,217)
Comments
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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.

Featured in: Asian Pantry Essentials

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 4tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • ½cup white miso
  • 2tablespoons honey
  • 1tablespoon rice vinegar (do not use seasoned rice vinegar)
  • Black pepper, to taste
  • 8skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs, approximately 2½ to 3 pounds
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

1059 calories; 78 grams fat; 25 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 31 grams monounsaturated fat; 15 grams polyunsaturated fat; 19 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 11 grams sugars; 68 grams protein; 1597 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    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.

  2. Step 2

    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.

Ratings

5 out of 5
12,217 user ratings
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Comments

Michael in YVR

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.

Greg

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).

Annie V

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!

Jennifer

I can be a pretty wasteful person, but the miso recipe was enough for twice as much chicken. I think cutting it in half would be ample.

Jessie

It tasted so amazing, but I definitely did something wrong because my marinade was just completely sliding off the chicken and did not caramelize! Definitely making again to see if I can get it right because it tasted great either way

Anna

Guess we’ll be outliers! Did not enjoy this recipe at all. I followed other suggestions to add some garlic and sesame oil and it was still pretty damn tasteless except if you got a chunk of the marinade which made you feel like you were eating cheese. Yuck. I did add some reserved marinade to oil, along with sesame oil and mirin and then dabbed that on broccoli and cabbage wedges during roasting which worked out fine. Another thumbs down for a NYT recipe. Don’t have many of those ☹️

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