Caramelized Lemon Chicken
This one pan Caramelized Lemon Chicken is my all time favourite. It’s unbelievably easy to make, it is PACKED with flavour, and it’s such a breeze to clean up. My kinda meal.
Only a handful of ingredients are needed here and we build a ton of flavour along the way.
I’m all about the recipes that don’t require many ingredients, don’t have too much prep time, and have a super easy clean up. This recipe is JUST THAT.
This is one of those recipes that I make when we have people coming over or if I want to take a dish over to a friend’s place. It’s always a huge hit and everyone’s always shocked at how easy it is to make! The leftovers are also super super tasty.
I really like using skin on, bone in chicken thighs for this recipe because the skin gets so nice and crispy and I find there to be a LOT more flavour. It’s important to take the chicken thighs out of the fridge about 20 minutes before you’re ready to start cooking. The reason for this is it allows for more even cooking and it helps retain its moisture, leading to juicier and more tender chicken.
The prep is incredibly easy for this dish. But it makes a huge difference if you can chop the garlic, shallots and slice the lemons beforehand so you can just throw things into the skillet when it comes time. It also helps to keep things neat and organized throughout the process.
I prefer using shallots to onions in this recipe because they’re slightly more sweet and more delicate!
This dish is really proof that we can really build a TON of flavour with just a few ingredients. The chicken gets seared in some butter and already you have this warm and amazing smell in your kitchen. Then the garlic and shallots get sautéed and things start smelling even BETTER. The lemon slices then get seared on each side and then we add the couscous to get all looooovely and toasty.
The white wine deglazes the pan and all of those nice, golden brown bits from the bottom will release once you stir. Next is the stock (you can use chicken or vegetable) and basically just add until all of the couscous is totally covered, which is about 2 cups. Everything gets added back into the skillet and then it takes just about 15-20 minutes in the oven for everything to come together. You want to make sure the internal temperature of the chicken is 165 and that the pearl couscous has absorbed all of the liquid.
This entire dish is so unbelievably tasty, but my favourite part is the golden pearl couscous around the edges that has absorbed all of that amazing flavour we’ve just built and it gets a little crispy almost. SO SO GOOD.
Ingredients:
[serves 4]
4 skin on, bone in chicken thighs
1 cup pearl couscous
1 lemon
1 shallot
3 garlic cloves
3-4 tbsp butter
1/3 cup white wine
~2 cups chicken broth
sprigs of fresh rosemary
salt, pepper, thyme
Preparation:
1. Take the chicken thighs out of the fridge 20 minutes before cooking. Pat dry and season with salt, pepper and dried thyme (you could really use any other seasoning you like here!)
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
3. Prep your other ingredients: finely chop the 3 garlic cloves, finely chop the shallot, and slice the lemon into 5 slices.
4. In an oven safe skillet over medium heat, add 3-4 knobs of butter. Let melt and then sear the chicken thighs skin side down for 5-6 minutes. Don’t move them around during this time! Flip and sear the other side for 5-6 minutes and then remove and set to the side on a plate.
5. Lower the heat to low and add in chopped garlic and shallots. Stir for 1 minute. Add lemon slices and sear for 1 minute on each side, then remove lemon slices and set to the side for later.
6. Add in pearl couscous, increase heat back to medium, and lightly toast. Deglaze with white wine and make sure to get all the good bits from the bottom of the pan as you stir. Add chicken stock (approximately 2 cups / make sure all the couscous is covered).
7. Bring to a light bubble and add the chicken thighs back in, place the lemon slices on top, and toss in a few sprigs of fresh rosemary. Turn off the heat and then place the whole skillet into the oven for about 15-20 minutes or until the pearl couscous has absorbed all the liquid and the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165.
Kitchen Tools Used:
