Oven Roasted Chicken Thighs with Lemon
I first discovered this chicken dish from one of my old co-workers a couple years ago. I was amazed chicken could taste so good and so flavorful. Here is my adaptation of the recipe - it is easy and delicious.
Couple things to note - chicken thighs are the juiciest and most flavorful part of the chicken but if you dig the chicken breast that would work too. Most important part of the recipe is keeping the crispy skin above the braising liquid.
Also the best way to tell if chicken is done is by using a meat thermometer - they range from cheap to expensive, here are a couple of my favorites:
-This is the one I use but it is a little on the pricier side: bit.ly/2dE9HST . But this one would work just as well bit.ly/2ebaNWN as would this one: bit.ly/2dEdzDr
Lastly, I don’t drain the fat from the pan after I brown the chicken because I want that tastiness in the braising broth (and I am also lazy like that), but you can certainly do that and I added it to the directions.
Oven Roasted Chicken Thighs with Lemon
- 2 1/2 lbs bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 5 individual thighs)
- salt and pepper
- 1 Tbs. olive oil
- 1/2 onion, thinly sliced
- 3/4 cup chicken broth
- 2 Tbs. lemon juice
- lemon slices
Pre-heat oven to 400°F.
Sprinkle salt and pepper over chicken thighs.
In 10” or 12” cast iron skillet warm the olive oil over medium high heat. Place the chicken, skin side down and brown until crispy, about 5 to 7 minutes.
Remove the chicken and carefully pour off the fat.
Scatter onions in the pan. Place the chicken skin side up on top of the onions. Carefully pour chicken broth and lemon juice around chicken thighs. Scatter lemon slices on top.
Roast chicken for 20 minutes or until a meat thermometer registers 165°F. Let chicken rest in braising broth for 5 minutes before serving.
Serves 4