Lemon thyme chicken. Some flavours just work together. You see them over and over. Nothing original here but it works. A bit of white wine and some crushed chili flakes round it out. Just tasty. This is a great place to use concentrated chicken stock if you have some on hand. If you don’t, consider it seriously…
There’s not a lot of sauce though. Just a spoonful per serving. Leaves you wanting more. Lemon thyme chicken is fast enough for a weeknight but flashy enough for the weekend.
lemon thyme chicken
Don't serve the lemon thyme chicken with anything that will soak up the sauce. Roasted potatoes or roasted root vegetables work. Buttered carrots are nice. Green beans maybe. Some baguette on the table maybe so people don't have to lick the plate.
Servings 2
Ingredients
- 4 large chicken thighs
- 1/2 lemon sliced thinly plus 1/4 lemon, juiced
- 1 clove garlic crushed
- 1/4 tsp crushed red chilies
- 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves coarsely chopped
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 1/2 cup low or no sodium chicken stock
- 2 Tbsp concentrated chicken stock if you have it - recipe link below
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat your over to 425F.
- Rub the chicken thighs with olive oil and season liberally with salt and pepper. Pre-heat a sturdy frying pan to medium and film with a bit more olive oil.
- Add the chicken, skin side down, and fry for about 10-12 minutes. Keep an eye on the temperature and adjust as necessary to keep it from smoking. You want to hear that frying sound the whole time. By the end, most of the fat from the skin will have rendered and you will be shallow frying the chicken.
- Remove pan from heat, remove chicken and spoon off all but 1 Tbsp of fat. It's just one Tbsp - it won't kill you. Line the bottom of the pan with the lemon slices and return the chicken to the pan, again, skin side down.
- Roast at 425 for about 8-10 minutes. You are going for an interim internal temperature of about 155-160F (you have an instant read thermometer right?). Flip the chicken and return to the oven for another 3-5 minutes or until you reach an internal temperature of 175F. This last step isn't necessary but it helps bring back the crisp to the skin.
- Remove chicken and now caramelized lemon slices. Heat pan over medium low heat and add the garlic and chili flakes. Cook for about 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add the juice of 1/4 lemon and cook another 30 seconds or so.
- Pour in the white wine and raise heat. Reduce to syrupy glaze. Now, add the chicken stock and thyme. Reduce by a bit less than half. If you have the concentrated chicken stock add it now.
- Add any accumulated juices from the chicken, mix and adjust seasonings.
Just a little PSA. No matter what you may think, tripling the amount of wine in this recipe will NOT improve the flavour of the sauce. In my defense, it was a girls night out so I was cooking for one tonight. A quarter cup of wine for the recipe leaves pretty much, well my math isn’t the best so let’s just call it a whole bottle, of wine for the glass. By the time it was time to add the wine, I had handled said bottle enough that I was able to reach for it without even looking to see where it was. I added the quarter cup and reduced it. Now add the half cup of stock and thyme. Dave Brubeck Quartet was playing and I was in the zone (read enjoying the wine). Without even looking, I reached for the stock…grabbed the bottle, and added a generous half cup before realizing I had the wine in my hand. I reduced the wine again and added a full cup of stock to try to tame the sauce. It turned out ok but I have made this recipe more than once before tonight and I can assure you that you will be much better off if you stick with the quarter cup of wine that is called for.
Cheers
Hahahahahahaha!