glazed chicken thighs with mango jalapeño salsa

- mains, summer -

i'm always looking to jazz up the proteins that we have on repeat for dinners. while we have chicken thighs fairly regularly, we rarely get bone-in ones, but they have so much more flavor to them. this marinade + glaze on them is perfect for bone-in thighs, and the mango jalapeño salsa brightens everything up. give this recipe a try if you're stuck in the same boring protein cycle. 
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INGREDIENTS

marinade
1/3 c orange juice
​1/4 c soy sauce
1 tbsp vegetable or canola oil
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp fresh cracked pepper
1/4 tsp mustard powder
1/4 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp ground ginger
​1/8 tsp cayenne
chicken
4 bone-in chicken thighs (skin on or off)
4 tbsp avocado oil
1/4 c brown sugar
1/4 c sesame seeds (optional)
salsa
2 ripe mangos, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, finely diced
1 jalapeño, seeded and minced
1/4 c cilantro, roughly chopped
1 lime, juiced
1/4 c orange juice
1 tbsp salt
1/4 c chives or scallions, chopped
3/4 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp cayenne
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DIRECTIONS

1. ​mix the chicken marinade ingredients in a bowl or plastic bag and add the chicken. let this marinade for at least 30 mins-hour.
2. mix all of the salsa ingredients in a bowl and let it marinade on the counter or fridge.
3. preheat your oven to 350°F
4. heat a medium cast iron pan on high heat. add the avocado oil. remove the chicken from the marinade and pat it dry. save the marinade. once your pan and the avo oil is hot, add the chicken thighs skin side down. 
5. once the skin side is a nice golden brown and seared, flip and sear the other side of the chicken. lower the heat to medium. 
6. once both sides of your chicken are a deep golden, put the pan in the oven for 6-10 minutes, or until the internal temp reads 160°.
7. remove the chicken to a plate. add your marinade to the pan on the stove on medium-low heat. add the brown sugar and then the sesame seeds.
8. once the glaze has thickened a bit, dip the skin sides of the chicken in the glaze and then nestle them in the sauce skin side up. 
9. optional: put the chicken under a low broil to caramelize the glaze even more. 
10. when serving the mango salsa, use a slotted spoon to drain most of the orange juice marinade before placing it over the chicken.