Chile-Roasted Chicken With Honey, Lemon and Feta

Published May 12, 2021

Chile-Roasted Chicken With Honey, Lemon and Feta
Linda Xiao for The New York Times Food Stylist: Judy Kim.
Total Time
50 minutes, plus marinating
Rating
4(2,069)
Comments
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A little sweet, a little spicy and very citrusy, this easy chicken recipe hits all the right notes, making it the kind of weeknight dinner you’ll put on repeat. The feta adds a creamy, salty bite that’s softened by the lemon and honey, while rosemary and red-pepper flakes round out the flavors. Serve this with a loaf of crusty bread or flatbread for scooping up all the tangy pan juices. You won’t want to leave a drop behind.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 3pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs and drumsticks (to substitute breasts, see Tip)
  • Salt and black pepper
  • 2large garlic cloves, finely grated or crushed to a paste
  • 1tablespoon honey
  • 1tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
  • ¼teaspoon red-pepper flakes, plus more for serving
  • 2fresh rosemary sprigs
  • 1lemon, preferably a Meyer lemon, thinly sliced and seeded
  • 2ounces feta, crumbled into large pieces (a heaping ½ cup)
  • Chopped mint, dill or parsley, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

646 calories; 38 grams fat; 11 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 16 grams monounsaturated fat; 7 grams polyunsaturated fat; 9 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 5 grams sugars; 64 grams protein; 894 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Season chicken all over with salt and pepper. In a large bowl, mix together garlic, honey, olive oil and ¼ teaspoon red-pepper flakes. Add chicken and toss well with your hands, spreading the garlic paste all over the chicken pieces. (Don’t worry if the honey is a little clumpy.) Add rosemary sprigs and lemon slices and toss to combine. Let marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes, or up to 8 hours in the refrigerator.

  2. Step 2

    Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line a sheet pan with a silicone liner or parchment paper.

  3. Step 3

    Spread chicken and lemons across a single layer in the lined pan, tucking in the rosemary sprigs. Drizzle oil generously over everything. Roast for 20 minutes.

  4. Step 4

    Using tongs, turn over the chicken pieces, and give the lemons a stir. Sprinkle feta on top. Continue to bake for 20 to 25 minutes longer, until the chicken is deeply bronzed and cooked through, and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh or drumstick registers 165 degrees. Serve garnished with chopped herbs and more red-pepper flakes, if you like.

Tip
  • To substitute white meat, use bone-in, skin-on breasts and roast them for 25 to 30 minutes. Add the feta at the beginning and do not turn the chicken.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
2,069 user ratings
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Comments

For this recipe, I would cook them just skin side up. In this recipe, if you flip them, you will lose the crispy skin on top. When cooking chicken thighs in a pan, I cook them skin side down first, then flip. For the crispiest skin it's important not to move the pieces around in the pan.

RE: Kosher Feta Substitute: Feta's umami can be subbed with Chinese fermented bean paste or miso (reduce the salt). Cheese's tang is mainly from lactic acid, and for sheep/goat cheese, caproic & caprylic acids also (see Harold McGee). Lactic acid also gives sauerkraut, kimchi & cucumber pickles their tang. (veganicindia.com/is-lactic-acid-vegan/). So try pickle juice (see foodandwine.com/recipes/pickle-brined-chicken). Or just use lemon juice or your favorite vinegar (including balsamic).

Delicious dish! I’d read that people had issues with the lemon burning so I created a layer of lemon on the bottom and placed the chicken on top. I also did not flip the chicken for beautiful browned skin. It was such an easy and tasty mid week meal, served with whole roasted cauliflower.

Cooked per instructions. My wife, a picky eater, said this is the best chicken dish she has ever tasted.

Try this with shrimp and goat cheese garnished with fresh parsley! Add a freshly baked baguette for soaking in the pan juices and, voila, dinner is done! This dish will be one of our new family favorites!

Personally loved it (although not a hit with the husband who said it was too lemony). Followed the notes and put the chicken on top of the lemon and didn't flip for a crispy skin. Added baby spinach for the last 20 minutes to wilt. A bit too long for a weeknight recipe but very hands off and the flavour payout was incredible. Would make again with adjustments!

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