Easy Broiled Lemon Chicken

By JillyMatlin

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken cut in pieces (or about 3 lbs chicken pieces)
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• Juice of 2 large or 3 small lemons (reserve the peels for the roasting pan)

Preparation

Step 1

Wash your chicken pieces well and pat dry with paper towels. Add the chicken pieces to a large shallow pan. It is very important not to crowd the chicken pieces in the pan. They should not touch each other at all and should have at least a half inch of space between the pieces for good heat circulation and even browning. If necessary, us two smaller pans in order not to crowd the pieces together. To the pan add:

3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
Juice of 2 large or 3 small lemons (reserve the peels for the roasting pan)

Toss together well, massaging the chicken pieces well with the lemon, oil and seasonings. Spread out the pieces in the pan. Add the lemon peel pieces to the pan as well; the roasted lemon pieces add extra flavor to the pan drippings.

Because individual broilers vary greatly you will have to use some judgement in the cooking method and time to suit your individual broiler. I broiled this chicken on high but kept the pan on the second lowest rack from the bottom. Watch the chicken carefully so that it does not brown too quickly. If it does start to brown too quickly, lower the rack even further or if possible, turn the temperature down on your broiler. If your broiler is temperature controlled I would set it at about 400 to 425 degrees F.

It is important to turn the chicken several times during the broiling time. I turned the pieces about 4 times during the 35-40 minute cooking time. Use a meat thermometer to take a reading from the center of the largest pieces of chicken and when the internal temperature reaches 170 degrees F remove the pieces from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes before serving. Skim the excess fat from the pan drippings and serve with the chicken.