Simple Lemon & Garlic Roasted Chicken

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

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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

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To season, simply sprinkle each piece of chicken with kosher salt and ground black pepper

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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

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Sear these for 3-4 minutes or until a nice crust forms

Flip and sear 3-4 minutes more

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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)

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Remove the seared chicken from the heat

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Pour the lemon juice over all the chicken (make sure there are no seeds)

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Add the garlic and lemon zest

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I kept the lemons after I juiced them and quartered them

Add those in as well as the thyme

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Into the oven we go for 20 minutes

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We don’t like any part of the chicken to be wet or mushy, so we flip it and cook another 20 minutes

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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!

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Enjoy!!!!

Simply Sundays! ~ Simple Lemon & Garlic Roasted Chicken

  • Servings: 8-10
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Print

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

Lodge Cast Iron Pan

© Simply Sundays 2016
All rights reserved

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