Soy sauce, citrus and honey is always a winning combination with chicken. The addition of star anise adds that touch of licorice without overpowering it. The sugar in the honey can make these thighs burn, so keep an eye on them. Using non-stick aluminum foil saves a lot of clean-up hassles later.
In the summertime, I like to cook these almost all the way through in the oven, then move them to the grill to give them that nice char and smokey taste right at the end.
1 teaspoon ground star anise
2 teaspoons granulated garlic
1/4 cup fresh lime juice or lemon juice or combination
1/4 cup soy sauce (I use La Choy when I want it gluten-free)
2 tablespoons honey
8 chicken thighs (about 4 lb.), skin on
I have an old coffee grinder I use for spices, so I toss in a couple of star anise and grind them up. Then I measure out a teaspoon of that for my marinade. (If you don’t have a spice grinder, you can use a mortar and pestle.)
Combine the star anise, garlic, lemon or lime juice, soy sauce and honey. Pour it into a large Ziploc bag and add the chicken thighs. Squish it around to make sure the thighs are well coated. Marinate the chicken thighs for several hours, or even better: overnight.
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
Cover a sheet pan with non-stick aluminum foil and place thighs skin-side up. Cook them low and slow for about 2 hours. Finish them on the grill or pop ’em under the broiler to get that tasty char. But be careful! They can burn quickly!
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