Honey Garlic Lemon Pepper Chicken Thighs

• servings: 6 servings
• active time: 10 minutes
• total time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

½ cup honey

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 ½ tablespoons minced garlic

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (juice from approximately 1 medium lemon)

2 teaspoons lemon pepper seasoning

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 large pinch crushed red pepper flakes (more or less to taste)

6 medium bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (approximately 3 pounds total)

salt (to taste)

1-2 tablespoons neutral-flavored oil (avocado oil, canola oil; see Notes)

1 medium lemon (thinly sliced)

1 tablespoon butter (at room temperature)

thin lemon slices

cooked rice

Directions

Preheat oven to 375° Fahrenheit. Adjust racks as needed so skillet will sit in center of oven.

Add ½ cup honey, 3 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 ½ tablespoons minced garlic, 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice, 2 teaspoons lemon pepper seasoning, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, and 1 large pinch crushed red pepper flakes to medium bowl. Whisk ingredients vigorously until mixture is smooth. Set sauce aside.

Place 6 medium bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs on cutting board or plate. Pat chicken thighs completely dry on all sides with paper towels. Season chicken thighs generously on all sides with salt. Set aside.

Heat large skillet on stovetop over medium-high heat. When pan is warm, add 1-2 tablespoons neutral-flavored oil and swirl pan to distribute oil across surface. Continue heating pan until oil is hot and shimmery.

When oil is hot, place seasoned chicken thighs skin-side down in skillet, being careful not to overcrowd pan. Cook chicken thighs 5 minutes, or until skin begins to crisp and turn golden, and skin releases easily from surface of skillet.

Flip chicken thighs over and cook, skin-side up, 2 minutes more. After 2 minutes, carefully remove skillet from heat and drain all but 4 tablespoons liquid from skillet.

Place skillet on cool stovetop burner. Use tongs to carefully arrange thin slices of 1 medium lemon around and between chicken thighs. Once all lemon slices have been placed, pour prepared honey sauce into skillet, covering chicken thighs evenly.

Place skillet in preheated oven. Roast chicken thighs 9 minutes, then carefully remove skillet from oven and spoon sauce from skillet onto tops of chicken thighs, basting chicken thoroughly.

Return skillet to oven and roast chicken thighs 9 minutes more or until internal temperature of chicken thighs reaches 165° Fahrenheit when checked with internal meat thermometer.

Once chicken reaches target temperature, carefully remove skillet from oven. Transfer roasted chicken thighs to large plate and set aside.

Return skillet to stovetop over medium heat. Bring sauce in skillet to gentle boil, then immediately reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes or until sauce has thickened enough to coat back of spoon.

Remove skillet from heat and let sauce cool slightly. Add 1 tablespoon butter (at room temperature) and whisk until butter is fully incorporated into sauce.

Return chicken thighs to skillet, skin-side up, and spoon sauce over tops of chicken thighs. Serve chicken thighs warm with thin lemon slices and additional sauce over a bed of cooked rice if desired.

Notes

8/10

I cooked chicken in cast iron on medium/medium-high. About 2/3 min a side. Then covered in the sauce and added butter and cooked in oven. Flipped half way through. Very very tasty but I didn’t pour the extra sauce on top which is a mistake cuz it’s slightly bland. Although slightly bland it still is very flavorful and tasty. I didn’t do any simmering of the sauce as it reduced when in oven. This method was easier and should be done the same way next time, but pour the extra sauce on top

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 serving (1 chicken thi
• Calories: 559 kcal
• Total Fat: 36 g
• Saturated Fat: 10 g
• Unsaturated Fat: 22 g
• Trans Fat: 0.2 g
• Cholesterol: 194 mg
• Sodium: 668 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 26 g
• Dietary Fiber: 0.5 g
• Total Sugars: 24 g
• Protein: 33 g