Believe it or not, delicious roasted chicken is not all that hard to achieve
Once you have made this and realize how simple it is you are going to want to make it again and again
We happen to have some company over so I’m making a lot of chicken
Best part?
If there are any leftovers roasted chicken is great for lunch!
We have 6 chicken thighs and 6 chicken legs
I’m going to remove the skin from the chicken and trim off any excess fat
Feel free to leave the skin on if that’s what you like, however I would suggest you still trim any fat especially on the thighs
To season, simply sprinkle each piece of chicken with kosher salt and ground black pepper
Preheat your oven to 350 F
Heat 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in an oven proof pan over medium high heat
When the pan is lightly smoking add in your chicken top side down (at least for the thighs)
Sprinkle the exposed side with more kosher salt and ground black pepper
Sear these for 3-4 minutes or until a nice crust forms
Flip and sear 3-4 minutes more
While the meat is searing let’s gather up the remaining ingredients
We will need 3 lemons, zested and juiced, 1 head of garlic and some fresh thyme
Now we are out of the growing season so we froze our thyme and that’s what I’m using
Be generous because there never seems to be enough thyme (chuckle)
Remove the seared chicken from the heat
Pour the lemon juice over all the chicken (make sure there are no seeds)
Add the garlic and lemon zest
I kept the lemons after I juiced them and quartered them
Add those in as well as the thyme
Into the oven we go for 20 minutes
We don’t like any part of the chicken to be wet or mushy, so we flip it and cook another 20 minutes
Raise the oven temp to 425 F
Flip the chicken one last thyme…oops…I meant one last time and cook for 10 minutes more
Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving
It’s really that simple!
YUM!
Enjoy!!!!
Simply Sundays! ~ Simple Lemon & Garlic Roasted Chicken
Ingredients
6 chicken thighs (skin and excess fat removed)
6 chicken legs (skin and excess fat removed)
kosher salt
ground black pepper
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
3 lemons (zested, juiced and quartered)
1 head of garlic (peeled, larger cloves can be halved)
fresh thyme sprigs
Directions
Remove the skin from 6 chicken thighs and 6 chicken legs and trim off any excess fat Sprinkle each piece of chicken with kosher salt and ground black pepper
Preheat your oven to 350 F. Heat 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in an oven proof pan over medium high heat. When the pan is lightly smoking add in the chicken, top side down, (at least for the thighs). Sprinkle the exposed side with more kosher salt and ground black pepper
Sear these for 3-4 minutes or until a nice crust forms. Flip and sear 3-4 minutes more
Zest and juice 3 lemons, then quarter the lemons and reserve them. Peel 1 whole head of garlic. Halve any large cloves
Remove the seared chicken from the heat. Pour the juice from the 3 lemons over the chicken making sure there are no seeds. Add in the lemon zest and the garlic cloves. Next add the quartered lemons and fresh thyme sprigs
Place in the oven for 20 minutes. Flip the chicken and cook 20 minutes more. Raise to oven temp to 425 F, flip the chicken one last time and cook for another 10 minutes Remove from the oven and let rest ten minutes before serving with the pan juices
Tools used to make this recipe
New Star Foodservice Enameled Aluminum Lemon Squeezer
Architec Gripperwood Cutting Board
Wilton Recipe Right 3 Piece Cookie Pan Set
© Simply Sundays 2016
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