Ready for the crispiest, lemon pepper chicken thighs and potatoes you’ve ever had? I got you covered. Plus a bonus recipe for kale with garlic and tomatoes!
As with many of my recipes, I was inspired by dishes I used to prepare at my previous job. The lemon pepper seasoning is certainly optional and wasn’t a part of the original dish.
Besides the seasoning, I use fresh whole garlic and rosemary to flavor this dish. The whole garlic cloves are protected from browning by their skin and slowly roast and soften while simultaneously imparting flavor in the oil. If you’re a garlic fan, you can pop them out of their skin and into your mouth for a little extra treat. The rosemary adds another great flavor, but could easily be substituted with thyme or left out all together. Just be careful not to burn the garlic and rosemary. They can be placed on top of the food away from the heat at any time to avoid burning.
Patience. All you need is patience. To make the chicken, add a small amount of oil to a nonstick pan and place the seasoned thighs in skin-side down. You actually want to start with a cold pan! That way when you start warming the pan, the chicken skin will slowly render its fat before taking on any color. Cook this on medium-low heat for around an hour or until the skin is browned and as crispy as a cracker. At this point, the chicken should be 90% of the way cooked through. Flip it over and deglaze the pan for the last several minutes.
The potatoes take around the same amount of time as the chicken. I saute potato wedges right over the stove top until they’re crispy on the outside and creamy in the center. A few tips with this method are: 1. salt potatoes at end to avoid drawing out the moisture 2. keep a consistent temperature so the taters don’t become overly browned (on a high temp) or soak up too much oil (on a low temp) 3. keep them moving for even browning and cooking 4. spoon in rendered chicken fat to make them even tastier.
To round out this dish, we have some sauteed kale. I love any hearty green in the fall and winter months. I add garlic and hot pepper flakes to all of my greens, but this kale is also studded with pops of sweet, acidic tomatoes. Good quality grape, cherry or cocktail tomatoes would be best here.
- 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- 8 whole garlic cloves in skin
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- Lemon Pepper Seasoning
- ¼ cup chicken stock or white wine
- 1 ½ lbs Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut in ½ to ¾ inch thick wedges
- 8-12 whole garlic cloves in skin
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 bunch lacinato kale, stem removed, cut into 1 inch thick strips
- 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- ½ cup grape tomatoes, halved
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- Pinch of hot red pepper flakes
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
- Season and cook chicken: Pat chicken dry and season with lemon pepper seasoning and additional salt and pepper, to taste. Add oil to cold, nonstick pan. The pan should be small enough for the thighs to be slightly crowded in pan. Add chicken skin side down and turn heat to medium. Add garlic and rosemary to pan.
- Once pan heats up, reduce heat to medium-low and cook thighs 45-60 minutes or until skin is well-browned and crispy, and chicken is about 90% of the way cooked through. Flip chicken and deglaze pan with stock, making sure to not get skin wet. Bring to a boil and reduce in volume by half. The chicken should be fully cooked through at this point.
- Cook potatoes: Warm pan for potatoes over medium heat right before adding chicken to pan. The pan should be large enough for the potatoes to fit in a single layer. Add oil to pan, followed by potato wedges. Toss to coat. Add garlic cloves and rosemary to pan. DO NOT season at this time. Spoon over any extra rendered fat from the chicken pan as potatoes cook. Cook over medium to medium-low heat for 45-60 minutes, flipping as needed. The potatoes should be evenly browned, crispy on the outside and creamy in the center. Drain off any excess oil. Season generously with salt and toss to coat.
- Cook kale: When chicken and potatoes are almost finished cooking, add oil, garlic and red pepper for kale to a large nonstick pan. Warm over medium heat. When garlic starts to sizzle, add tomatoes to pan. Season with salt. Add kale to pan and season with salt. Toss to combine, and saute about 5 minutes or until kale is tender with slight bite.
- Serve: Plate chicken, potatoes and kale. Serve with chicken’s pan juices, and whole cooked garlic. Enjoy.
The post Crispy Lemon Pepper Chicken Thighs and Potatoes appeared first on Honest Cooking.
