Description
This recipe highlights how great high-quality chicken can taste when combined with just a little seasoning, fresh herbs and lemon juice. This combination allows the chicken to stay very moist, tender and full of nutrients. Ideal as a meal, snack or even as a picnic dish the following day.
Ingredients
- 6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (2 pounds)
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon ghee, lard or tallow
- 1 large lemon, sliced
- 6 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F.
- Sprinkle the chicken on both sides with the salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
- Heat the ghee in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat.
- Place the chicken thighs in the pan, skin side down, and cook for 2 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to medium and continue cooking the thighs without touching them for another 10 minutes, or until the skin has released from the pan (the skin will initially stick to the pan and then will release once the fat has rendered).
- Drain any excess fat from the pan, then transfer the skillet to the oven (remember, the handle will be hot).
- Cook for 10 more minutes.
- Remove the skillet from the oven and flip the chicken pieces over.
- Nestle the lemon slices and thyme sprigs between the chicken pieces, then return the pan to the oven for 5 minutes, or until the skin is crispy and the juices run clear when a knife is inserted and the meat is no longer pink inside, or the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165°F.
- Remove from the oven.
- Drizzle with lemon juice, and serve.
- Enjoy!
Notes
If your food is sticking to your cast-iron pan, there’s a good chance your pan isn’t seasoned well—not “seasoned” as in salt and pepper, but “seasoned” as in baked in the oven with a coating of fat or oil to create a protective non-stick surface. Most cast-iron pan manufacturers have information on their websites about how to care for and season their products, so if in doubt, check them out and get your cast iron pan in tip-top shape!
