Saturday 16 January 2010

Lemon Chicken

Lemon Chicken 





 I have made no secret of my love of lemons. If I had to choose between chocolate and lemon . . . I think I'd choose lemon every time . . . although in all honesty, it would be a real dilema for me, coz I really like chocolate as well!



  Lemon Chicken 



 I think lemons are slightly better for you though, and not quite as hard on the hips.



  Lemon Chicken





I love chicken too. When properly cooked, chicken can be a real treat! A lot of the time it can end up overcooked, dry and tasteless . . . especially the breast meat. 


 You really need to watch it carefully. There is nothing worse than boomerang tough chicken . . .


  Lemon Chicken 




 Back in Canada when we would go out for dinner I always loved to order Lemon Chicken. Sometimes they got it right, sometimes they didn't. 


 To me, great lemon chicken should be moist, and tangy with full on lemon flavour, tempered with some sweetness that doesn't detract from the dish as a whole. 


 You want just the right mix of crisp outside crust on the chicken with deliciously moist insides, and a wonderfully tangy sweet sauce that tastes just right. This chicken is exactly that. 


 If you follow my timings exactly you will be rewarded with one yummily moreish chicken dish! This recipe is the keeper of all keepers. Your family will bow down to you and hail you as the chicken master. Seriously.


  Lemon Chicken 




  *Lemon Chicken* 
Serves 4 


 Moist and tender chicken breasts in a lucious honey lemon sauce. What's not to like? 

 4 large boneless chicken breasts 
5 TBS fresh lemon juice 
50g of flour (about 1/3 cup) 
1 1/2 tsp salt 
1/2 tsp paprika
 2 TBS softened butter
 3 TBS extra virgin olive oil 
2 unwaxed lemons, sliced into 1/4 inch thick slices 
4 TBS brown sugar 
3 TBS liquid honey 
1 cup chicken stock 



  Lemon Chicken




Lightly butter a 9 by 13 inch glass baking dish. Set aside. Place the lemon juice into a bowl. Add the chicken, turning it around to coat. Allow to sit for about 15 minutes. 


 Shake the flour, salt and paprika together in a large plastic bag. 


 Remove the chicken pieces from the lemon juice. Save the juice left in the bowl for a bit later. 

 Shake the chicken in the bag with the flour. 

 Heat the butter and the olive oil together in a large nonstick skillet. Add the chicken pieces and cook them on both sides until golden brown. 

Place the browned chicken breasts, right side up, in the prepared baking dish. Cover them with the sliced lemons. Sprinkle evenly with the brown sugar. 

 Pre-heat the oven to 190*C/375*F. 

 Add the chicken stock and leftover lemon juice to the pan drippings. Cook and stir, scraping with a wooden spoon to get up all the tasty brown bits. Add 2 TBS of the honey and bring to the boil. (Save 1 TBS for a bit later on) Simmer until slightly thickened. 

 Pour the sauce into a corner of the baking dish and then give it a jiggle to distribute the sauce over the bottom and around the breasts, without disturbing the lemon slices. 

 Cover tightly with foil wrap and then place the chicken into the heated oven. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven. 

 Baste with the pan juices and recover and return to the oven for another 10 minutes. Remove from the oven. Discard the foil wrap. Baste again. 

Drizzle the remaining TBS of honey over the lemon slices and return the dish to the oven and bake for a further 10 to 15 minutes until the chicken is done, tender and sticky yummy! 


 This goes really well with some basmati rice which you have cooked with a bit of stock and saffron. Fork through some plumped sultanas and chopped cashew nuts for texture. Delicious!!

21 comments

  1. Oh, Yum! I love lemony lemon chicken! Too often you have to pretend you're tasting the lemon--this looks just right! Hope you're having a lovely day--I'm sitting at my computer listening to a bunch of teenagers playing funny games together at my daughter's party--love times like this! Talk to you tomorrow!

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  2. Me recuerda al pollo de los restaurantes chinos, esta receta no va a tardar mucho en caer. Gracias.

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  3. Sounds absolutely mouthwatering. Chicken and lemon is a favorite combination of mine, too.

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  4. Oh Marie:) THIS looks smashingly good..

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  5. Looks and sounds delicious! I can't wait to give it a try.

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  6. Look really tasty Marie, really delicious! Have a nice and lovely weekend with Todd, take care, love ya! gloria

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  7. Hello - just found your blog - love it :)
    Would this recipe work for chicken thighs and drumsticks?

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  8. Love lemon chicken. I make it differently where the chicken is panfried with panko and the sauce is drizzled over the top and then finished for five minutes in the oven. I like the way your recipe penetrates the chicken though. Also like that you let the chicken be with the lemon juice first. Adds a nice early layer of lemon flavor. Thank you! Rick Perry www.scratchchef.com

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  9. Ok, it's official! I, having been inspired by you and the movie, Julie and Julia am going to make a new recipe once a week. This in going to be my first one. I am going to go buy chicken and lemons right now! I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks for being so inspirational, Marie! XOXO

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  10. I'm with you. I love lemons. They perk up almost any dish. I've saved this recipe for the future. Great pictures!

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  11. Marie....your lemon chicken looks mouthwateringly luscious! Is mouthwateringly a word? Spell check tells me NO....oh well..it is now! That's the only word I have to describe these lovely photos!
    I love, love, love lemons too....I'm going to have to try this for sure. :)

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  12. I am surely going to try that.

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  13. Just looking at the picture is making my mouth water, I love lemon with my chicken.

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  14. Son # 3 - our fussy eater truly left us speechless when on his first trip to a Chinese cafe as a little boy ordered 'Lemon Chicken please, hold the lemon.' And at 29 he still does exactly the same!
    Millie ^_^

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  15. Yum! Going to have to give this one a go too. Not sure if Huuby is quite over his last lemon chicken expereince with me though, a low fat version that required whole chunks of lemon to be included, unfortunatley I forgot to tell him to eat around the chunks - oops ;0)

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  16. Not sure how I missed this post - This lemon chicken of yours I HAVE to make! It looks delish!

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  17. Tried this recipe last night, the favors were fantastic but the chicken coating wasn't crisp....is it supposed to be?? What do you think I did wrong??

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  18. April, many thanks for your comments and your question! This isn't the same type of lemon chicken as the one which has a crisp coating. This is delicious, but because it is baked in the lemon sauce, it is more of a sticky lemon coating rather than a crisp one! Glad you liked it though. It is rather scrummy! xxoo

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  19. OH!! Well great, cuz I LOVED it!! :)

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  20. Made this today it was fabulous! So full of flavour. Super moist chicken.

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    Replies
    1. I am so pleased that this was enjoyed! Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience with us!

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