Perfect Roasted Chicken
I’ve been thinking about recipes for Father’s Day… and everything that comes to mind when you think about celebrating Dad is meat. Grilled meat, marinaded meat, burgers, ribs…chicken. Roasted chicken is mouthwatering. Crispy, salty skin, moist and tender meat that literally falls off the bone.
I think that people generally associate roasted chicken with long cook times, dry meat, and overall tediousness. Or, you’ve tried roasting chicken and end up with soggy skin. My two-step process for perfect roasted chicken is fail-proof and guarantees crisp skin and delicious chicken. I’ve shared this recipe on the blog before, but I figured that I would feature it again since it was one of my very first recipes.
So give it a try, treat dad or your family to a comforting meal that can be served with any side dish, can top a salad, be added to pasta, or be packed for lunch the next day. It’s easier than you think :)
What You Need:
- 6-8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- EVOO
- Salt & Pepper, Lawry’s Seasoning Salt (optional) Here’s where you can be creative with the base recipe - feel free to use Lemon Pepper seasoning, garlic, curry powder, cayenne pepper, etc.
What To Do:
- Preheat your oven to 400F.
- Cover a cookie sheet or nonstick baking pan with foil and spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray.
- I think we all agree that dealing with poultry is super gross. When I am at the grocery store, I like to place the chicken container into a produce bag. Since this dish is simple and doesn’t require marinating or cutting raw poultry, it’s easy to keep contaminated surfaces down to a minimum. Once you’re home and ready to cook, you can simply rip open the produce bags a little, slice thru the cellophane wrap around the chicken, and expose the chicken. This way you have one less chicken-contaminated surface to clean.
- Generously salt and pepper your chicken, skin side up. I like to split the salt between Kosher salt and Lawry’s.
- Heat a large non-stick skillet with EVOO on high. As the oil starts to slowly heat, you can tell that the pan is ready to go by wetting your hand under the faucet and flicking the water at the pan. If the water quickly sizzles up and evaporates, the pan is ready. This happens right before the oil pops.
- Place the chicken thighs skin-side downand brown until the skin is crispy. While the thighs are skin-side down, season the underside of the chicken with salt, pepper, and Lawry’s. Do this in batches as to not overcrowd the pan, which lowers the temp of the pan’s surface. Once the skin is browned, remove from the pan with tongs and place them skin-side up on the foil-wrapped baking sheet.
- Brown all 6-8 thighs, about 4-5 minutes each.
- Once all the thighs are laying skin-side up on the baking sheet, bake for 25 minutes or until the inside temperature of the chicken reaches 165F and the juices run clear when pierced by a knife.
That's it! Perfect roasted chicken. The two-step process ensures a beautifully cooked piece of chicken. I love to use this method to do meal-prep. Roast off a bunch of chicken at the beginning of the week, and use it in multiple dishes throughout the week!
Use this as a base recipe. It’s simply salt & pepper.. feel free to roast some lemon slices with it, use garlic, lemon pepper, thyme, dry rubs, or tons of other flavors.
Any suggestions or requests for upcoming recipes? I’d love to hear from you :)