Lemon Chicken

Hello, beautiful, crispy chicken skin...get.in.my.belly.

When I hear "lemon chicken", the first thing that comes to my mind is Debra from the show Everybody Loves Raymond; lemon chicken was the one dish that she always made.  I suppose it was the only dish that she felt confident making, considering how much smack talk she always heard from her family about her sub-par cooking skills.  I bet she was confident about it, if this was the recipe she was using.  :)

Add yet another chicken recipe to your rotation!  This chicken is juicy and the skin has such a great flavor from the lemon, butter, and seasonings.  I asked Jordan if I could just eat the crispy skin off all the leftover pieces before storing them in the fridge...he said no.  He liked it a lot!!




Lemon Chicken
Source: slightly adapted from Annie's Eats

2 TB grated lemon zest (the zest of about 2 large lemons)
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (the juice from the 2 large lemons you zested; roll lemons on the counter before squeezing to get the juices flowing!)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
2-4 lbs. of bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs and/or drumsticks
2-3 TB melted butter
Thinly sliced lemons, for garnish

Combine the lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, seasoning, salt, & pepper into a large ziplock bag.  Seal the bag and shake well to blend.  Place the chicken pieces in the bag with the marinade, pressing out excess air and sealing once more.  Let marinate in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Remove the chicken pieces from the marinade and transfer to a baking dish, skin side up, reserving the leftover marinade.  Brush the top of each piece of chicken with melted butter.

Bake for 50-55 minutes, until the skins are crispy and well-browned.  Halfway through baking, pour the remaining marinade over the chicken pieces in the baking dish.  Once fully baked, cover loosely with foil and let rest 10 minutes before serving.  Transfer to a serving platter, garnish with lemon slices, and serve!