Chile-Roasted Chicken With Honey, Lemon and Feta
Published May 12, 2021
- Total Time
- 50 minutes, plus marinating
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 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
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
- 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.
- Step 2
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line a sheet pan with a silicone liner or parchment paper.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Private Notes
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.
My kids said this was the juiciest chicken I’ve ever cooked. Absolutely delicious
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!