So glad you liked it!

Hm! Let’s troubleshoot this, shall we?

Let’s do the rice first. Did you make sure to remove the skin OFF the chicken thighs? The skin has a lot of fat in it, and too much fat can make the rice take a very long time to cook. That would be my first guess. In addition, what kind of rice did you use? Short grain rice, such as arborio, or brown rice, can take a very long time to cook compared to long grain white rice, such as basmati, which is what the recipe calls for. Those are my two best guesses for the rice not cooking.

Now let’s do the chicken. There is almost no scenario the chicken would be underdone after 65 minutes in the oven! But there are a few factors that may be worth looking at.

First, was the chicken FULLY defrosted, if it was previously frozen? If it was still frozen on the inside, it may take much longer to cook. In addition, that may have caused a cooler temperature for the whole dish which *could* have affected the rice as well. I like to give frozen chicken pieces two full days in the fridge to defrost – I always find one is not enough.

Now, you mentioned the chicken was “bloody.” Was your problem that the meat seemed pink, and didn’t LOOK fully cooked? This can sometimes happen depending on what meat you use. Dark meat can have a pinkish hue to it, sometimes even reddish, even when fully cooked. Sometimes using organic chicken, or depending on how the chicken was raised or its age can affect this as well. Pigment in the bone marrow can sometimes make the meat look reddish, especially in young chickens whose bones are still permeable. The hemoglobin in the muscles can also react with air to give it a pinkish hue even after it’s fully cooked. Please see this source from the USDA.

The ONLY safe way to check for temperature doneness is to use a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the muscle (be careful not to measure temperature on a bone, as this will give an inaccurate reading). Chicken is fully cooked at 165 degrees F, though dark meat can be cooked to a higher temperature of 180-190 with a more juicy, fall-off-the-bone result. I love using the (affiliate link) Thermoworks Thermapen for a super accurate and fast reading.

I’m glad you were able to make the recipe work by finishing on the stovetop and I’m happy to hear you enjoyed the flavor! Hope you’re able to use some of this info for the next time :-)

-Elizabeth

So glad you liked it! Great to know it turned out well with boneless thighs- much easier than bone-in if you have to take the skin off yourself – I might have to revamp this recipe with instructions for that sometime soon! Thanks :-)

Oops! The olive oil. Thanks so much for catching that mistake- I edited the recipe card!

Drizzle 1 tablespoon of what?

Uncooked!

That’s a great question! I’ve never done it, and I don’t think it’s the MOST freezer friendly recipe, but I think it’s possible ? I think if you freeze it, you’d have to do it after you cook it. Then, you can probably defrost it completely (48 hours in the fridge) and put it in the oven to warm up, or reheat individual portions in the microwave. My fears with freezing is that the chicken and rice would over cook, leaving each dry- but like I said, I haven’t had experience with freezing it! If you try it I’d love to know how it turns out!