Lemon and Herb Roasted Chicken Thighs
These lemon and herb roasted chicken thighs are one of those dishes that is going into our bi-weekly dinner rotation. These thighs taste like a whole roasted chicken that has slowly baked in the oven for hours, but these thighs take under 30 minutes to cook, and doesn’t require you to cook a whole chicken. This dish is family approved and you can vary the flavors by changing out the herbs. In the summer we love pairing this chicken with my summer greens salad and my dairy free gluten free popovers, and in the fall we love pairing it with some fall roasted vegetables, such as butternut squash, sweet potato and red onion, and roasted broccoli.
Lemon and Herb Roasted Chicken Thighs
serves 4-6
recipe adapted from Feed Zone: Table
Note: You have to plan ahead to make this, as the chicken will need 3-4 hours to brine before baking. You can skip this step, but it truly adds great flavor to the chicken.
For the brine: I have a video below which shows you how easy it is to brine chicken.
- 5-6 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs, or you can use a combination of thighs and breasts – we usually use 4 thighs and 1-2 breasts
- 3 tablespoons Celtic sea salt – Don’t use table salt! Table salt contains iodine, which doesn’t work with brining.
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1-2 quarts warm/room temp water – you want enough water to cover all the chicken
For the Chicken:
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, this all depends on how much heat you want
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh herbs, divided – I used a mixture of rosemary, thyme and oregano. If you’re not a huge herb fan, feel free to use 1/4 cup. Also, try and balance out the herb ratio, as one time I used too much rosemary and it overwhelmed the dish.
- 1 lemon, sliced into 8 wedges
- Celtic sea salt to rub on the chicken
- Optional but yummy, 1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced
Below is a video I created to take the fear away from brining chicken. I also share tips about choosing chicken, and how to prepare it.
Brining the chicken: In a large (large enough to hold all the water and chicken) stainless steel or glass bowl, (don’t use plastic) whisk together 3 tablespoons sea salt, 1 tablespoon honey and warm water to create a brine.
Place chicken into the brine, cover, and transfer to the refrigerator. Make sure that there is enough water to submerge the chicken, if not, add more water. Let the chicken marinate in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours.
Take out the brined chicken and pat each piece of chicken throughly dry with a paper towel, and place the chicken thighs in large baking dish (I used a 9×12 dish). Drying the chicken will keep your chicken from getting soggy and help to create a crispy skin.
In a small bowl, combine the 3 tablespoons olive oil and 5 cloves minced garlic. Brush or rub the thighs with the olive oil and garlic mixture (make sure to use all of the garlic here) and sprinkle the thighs with the red pepper flakes and salt. Make sure the thighs are skin side up in the baking dish, and let chicken rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. This isn’t critical but makes for better flavor.
Let the chicken rest and cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Sprinkle with the remaining herbs. Take the chicken out from the pan and put onto individual plates, or a platter.
Lemon and Herb Roasted Chicken Thighs
4-6
servings30
minutesNote: You have to plan ahead to make this, as the chicken will need 3-4 hours to brine before baking. You can skip this step, but it truly adds great flavor to the chicken.
Ingredients
- For the Brine: - if you're nervous to brine, I have a video in the above post that shows you how easy it is.
5-6 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs, or you can use a combination of thighs and breasts – we usually use 4 thighs and 1-2 breasts
3 tablespoons Celtic sea salt – Don’t use table salt! Table salt contains iodine, which doesn’t work with brining.
1 tablespoon honey
1-2 quarts warm/room temp water – you want enough water to cover all the chicken
- For the Lemon Herb Chicken
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
5 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, this depends on how much heat you want
1/2 cup chopped fresh herbs, divided – I used a mixture of rosemary, thyme and oregano. If you’re not a huge herb fan, feel free to use 1/4 cup. Also, try and balance out the herb ratio, as one time I used too much rosemary and it overwhelmed the dish.
1 lemon, sliced into 8 wedges
Celtic sea salt to rub on the chicken
Optional but yummy, 1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced
Directions
Brining the chicken: I have a video in the above post to take the fear away from brining chicken. I also share tips about choosing chicken, and how to prepare it. In a large (large enough to hold all the water and chicken) stainless steel or glass bowl, (don’t use plastic) whisk together 3 tablespoons sea salt, 1 tablespoon honey and warm water to create a brine.
Place chicken into the brine, cover, and transfer to the refrigerator. Make sure that there is enough water to submerge the chicken, if not, add more water. Let the chicken marinate in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours.
Take out the brined chicken and pat each piece of chicken throughly dry with a paper towel, and place the chicken thighs in large baking dish (I used a 9×12 dish). Drying the chicken will keep your chicken from getting soggy and help to create a crispy skin.
In a small bowl, combine the 3 tablespoons olive oil and 5 cloves minced garlic. Brush or rub the thighs with the olive oil and garlic mixture (make sure to use all of the garlic here) and sprinkle the thighs with the red pepper flakes and salt. Make sure the thighs are skin side up in the baking dish, and let chicken rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. This isn’t critical but makes for better flavor.
While the chicken is resting, prep the herbs and slice the lemon into 8 wedges.
When the chicken is finished resting, adjust the oven rack to the middle position and heat the broiler to high. Tuck the lemon wedges alongside the pieces of chicken.
Transfer the chicken to the oven and broil chicken skin side up for 5-10 minutes. This will give the skin a nice, crispy texture. Make sure not to burn the skins because they will still cook as the chicken cooks.
Take the chicken out of the oven and sprinkle with half of the herb mixture, and add in the halved cherry tomatoes if using. Note: I have photos in the above post for reference.
- Switch the oven from broil to bake and adjust the temperature to 400 degrees. Put the chicken back in the oven and bake for roughly 25-35 minutes, or until the chicken’s internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.To be honest, I usually let my thighs cook to 170-175 degrees, as we prefer our thigh meat cooked longer, as it doesn't dry out like breast meat, especially if it's brined. Cooking times will vary depending on how large your chicken thighs are. When I cook Steve's chicken breast it always takes longer than the thighs, more like 40-45 min.Note: If the chicken is finished cooking, and you want it browner, then place the chicken under your broiler for a few minutes to brown up the skin.
Let the chicken rest and cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Sprinkle with the remaining herbs. Take the chicken out from the pan and put onto individual plates, or a platter.
Pour the juices, and roasted tomatoes from the baking dish into a small ramekin, or bowl, and give it a stir. The juices taste amazing poured over the chicken. We add the juices to our thighs throughout the meal.
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