For a really dark skin, allow 1 ½ hours from the time you turn on the oven.
A mixture of balsamic vinegar and Jamaican rum provides a dark crust, to the point of a golden mahogany color. Port wine will produce a deeper mahogany color, with a little sweetness. Madeira results in a lovely orange.
Use a ceramic baking dish. A cast iron dish or skillet does not work quite as well, and requires different temperatures and times.
Serve hot, at room temperature, or chilled. To serve warm, you may prepare several hours ahead and reheat in the oven.
With this method, particular attention must be paid to the end point (see note below).

Serves two

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Rinse chicken thighs in cold water and dry all sides lightly with a paper towel. Place them in un-oiled baking dish, skin side up. Pour most of the rum mixture over the chicken. Baste well, spooning up 2 or 3 times from the bottom.

(May be done ahead to this point.)

Bake in the rum mixture alone 10 minutes, a step that shortens the time. Baste again from the pan juices. Add water to a depth of ¼ inch or slightly more. Season skin with thyme, salt, and pepper.

Bake in liquid until done, about 1 hour. Maintain water at ¼ inch. Baste a couple of times when skin looks dry, once with the pan liquid, once with fresh vinegar-rum mixture. 

Let chicken cool in its own liquid.

End Point for Moist-Baked Fowl

As with any chicken, this must be cooked so that no trace of rose exists in the juices.
For the moist-baking method, neither the meat thermometer nor instant dial thermometer are infallible guides. To make sure for safety, place a piece skin side up on a white plate and watch juices for any sign of rose.
(If you notice juices bubbling just under the skin, puffing up the skin, you are approaching the end point.)

Variation
In place of vinegar-rum mixture, use Port or Madeira. 

A flavored liquid for sauce or stock can be easily produced in the normal course of cooking. Such a stock, unlike that from a boiled chicken carcass, does not need to be de-boned.

Add the following when you add liquid to the baking dish:

De-oiling: As a quantity of liquid exists, it is easily de-oiled. Use the cup with a spout at the bottom. Or, refrigerate or freeze and scrape off oil when it solidifies.

An instant sauce may be made from the cooking liquor, using yogurt or sour cream. If yogurt is first drained overnight, it will hold a large amount of the flavored liquid.

Serves two-three

Drain yogurt overnight in refrigerator so that it becomes as thick as cream cheese (thick yogurt cream). Place yogurt in serving bowl and let it come to room temperature. Shortly before serving, stir in the warm cooking liquid to a consistency of thin mayonnaise.

Stir in a few pieces of chopped roasted red pepper or dash of paprika. Keep sauce warm in oven.

This is a variation on the master recipe above, using a Chinese idea of marinating chicken four hours in strong alcohol. Here dark rum and balsamic vinegar are used, and a sauce flavored with limes and honey is served separately.

Serves two-three

Rinse chicken in cold water and dry on all sides with paper towels. Marinate chicken 4 hours in rum and balsamic vinegar, basting frequently.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Place chicken in un-oiled baking dish. Bake 10 minutes. Add water to a depth of ¼ inch or slightly more. Pour any remaining marinade over chicken. Add honey and slices of lime to the liquid.

Bake until done, about 1 hour. (see end-point note above.) Maintain water at ¼ inch. Baste with pan liquid a couple of times when skin looks dry.

De-oil liquid, place in heated serving dish, and serve separately. Float a wedge or thin slice of lime on the sauce.

Variation
Results are quite good even if you don’t bother to marinate. 

In this recipe the moist-baking technique is used, in combination with preliminary browning of chicken on the stove. Onions are browned, and spices briefly roasted, in hot oil. Chicken pieces are browned and then finished in the oven over a bath made aromatic with cinnamon and bay leaf. A most delicious combination of flavors is produced.

The skin will be moderately crisp, and not as dark as in the master recipe for thighs above. Allow 2 hours overall.

Serve over rice. Whole wheat crackers and spinach are good accompaniments. Any excess broth makes an excellent contribution to the stock pot.

Pieces may be refrigerated and served cold, and actually improve in flavor. Think picnic here.

Serves 3-4

To marinate the chicken

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Rinse chicken pieces in cold water and drain them. Place them on a plate and pat the skin dry on all sides with a paper towel. Rub skin with the garam masala and optional saffron. Baste with soy sauce. Let marinate while onions are cooking.

To brown the onions, 30-45 minutes

Heat oil in the skillet with medium low heat. Add onions, garlic, and dried chili peppers. Simmer gently until most onions are dark brown, 30-40 minutes.

To brown chicken

Turn heat to medium high. Add chicken pieces to the onion mixture, skin side down. Brown both sides of chicken, a minute or 2 on each side. lightly. This also pan-roasts the garam masala spices briefly, a common step in Indian cooking. Finish with the chicken skin-side up.

(May be done ahead of time to this point.)

To bake the chicken, 1 hour

Oven has been preheated to 375 degrees F.

Transfer the onions and chicken from the sauté pan to the un-oiled baking dish. Chicken should be skin side up. Baste with the onion mixture.

Place the baking dish in the oven. Bake 10 minutes without liquid, to shorten the time.

Add water, including a little wine, to depth of ¼ inch. Add cinnamon and bay leaf to water. Bake uncovered until done, about 45 minutes.

When done, chicken pieces on a white plate should drain yellow juices with no trace of rose.

Let chicken cool in its pan liquid.

Variation
Add a little dried papaya to the liquid.

Here the chicken is moist-baked, and its flavored liquid used for the potatoes. The potatoes, cooked covered on the stove, become suffused with the delightful aroma of chicken, ham, and onions. With the crisp, golden brown skin of the chicken, the whole can make a striking presentation.

This is an all-time favorite in our kitchen.

Serves 4

To moist-bake chicken

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Proceed with moist-baked chicken, as described in the master recipe above.
After 30 minutes, the pan liquid will be drained and used to cook the vegetables, as described below.

To cook vegetables

While chicken is baking, prepare the vegetables.

Heat olive oil in the kettle. Add chopped onions. Cook 5 minutes, until onions are tender and translucent.

Cut potatoes in bite-size or double bite-size pieces. Brown these slightly in the oil, about 15 minutes. Add the chopped ham for the last few minutes.

When the chicken has baked for 30 minutes, drain off the chicken cooking liquid into a cup. Replace with water and continue baking the chicken.

Add a few tablespoons of the drained liquid to the kettle. Cover and braise vegetables gently until potatoes are tender, about [.. 40.. ] minutes.

Add mushrooms at some convenient time. When they are cooked, remove to a plate. Add back just before serving to reheat.

To serve, place vegetables and chicken on the serving platter.

Variation
Add some carrots, cooked with the potatoes, or separately. These are nice for color.
Green olives are colorful and tasty. Add just before serving.
To incorporate garlic, include a clove, peeled, with the onions. Take the
clove out after 5 minutes, earlier if brown.

GLAZES FOR MOIST-BAKED CHICKEN

Moist-baked chicken is well suited to glazes.

Walnut pieces, toasted in the dry heat, combine with orange zest. The zest makes a particularly interesting addition to the stock pot.

This glaze sits well on a split chicken or other fairly large surface. It also may be used for thighs, but tends to roll off. The same glaze may be used for pork (see Pork section.) 

Serves two

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Rinse poultry pieces in cold water and dry all sides with a paper towel. Place them in un-oiled baking dish, skin side up.

Spread poultry with preserves, as evenly as possible. Choice of preserves makes no real difference, as they contribute little to the flavor. Distribute chopped zest and walnuts uniformly on the preserves.

(May be done ahead of time to this point.)

Bake dry 10 minutes, a step that shortens the time. Add white wine, then enough water for a liquid depth of ¼ inch or slightly more.

Bake in liquid until done, about 1 hour. Maintain water at ¼ inch. Baste a couple of times.

Let poultry cool in its own liquid.

Variations
Instead of walnuts, try pecans, hazelnuts, or almonds.
Small pieces of nuts may be used, but they do not toast as darkly.
A turkey wing can sometimes be done, but often is not flat enough for the glaze.