Does anything taste more like summer time than lemons? The freshness and the acidity always remind me of warm weather. Now that our weather is in full-fledged summer mode (complete with 90º days, pop-up thunderstorms and lot and lots of sunshine), I’m craving fresh food. Bonus: this recipe requires no oven! Not going to lie, I skip right past recipes that require me to turn on the oven to heat up a house that I’m paying to keep cool. It’s basic logic.
Why thighs?
You could totally use chicken breasts with this recipe instead of chicken thighs. I will tell you though, I prefer thighs for 2 reasons:
- They are usually cheaper per pound. And free range thighs seem to be on sale at my grocery store more often.
- Thighs stay much juicier than boneless, skinless chicken breasts. And no one likes dry chicken.
Seriously though. I don’t even like chicken half of the time because it’s so dry. This chicken is anything but that. The combo of using chicken thighs + searing it on cast iron first to lock in the juices and then finishing the chicken simmering in the sauce = the juiciest. Good luck not licking your plate in front of your dinner guests.
I’m usually all for rustic (i.e. ugly but delish) food, but sometimes I like to get a little fancy. To replicate this garnish, slice a lemon, then cut halfway into the lemon round and fan it out. Look at you, being all fancy and eating with your eyes first.
Juicy, flavor-packed lemony, seared and simmered chicken thighs bursting with palate punch of citrus, garlic, and fresh herbs. Stop cooking flavorless, dry chicken and up your protein home-cheffing game tonight. Or over the weekend or something more reasonable.
2 hrs-1 day ahead, make the marinade. Combine garlic, coconut milk, chicken broth, crushed red pepper, rosemary, sage, salt, pepper and lemon juice in a blender. Blend until it’s combined and smooth.
Place chicken in a ziplock bag, bowl or pan and pour the marinade over it. Cover and place in the fridge until ready to cook.
Heat the oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Remove chicken from the fridge and wipe off excess moisture. Do not discard marinade. When it’s hot, add chicken to skillet. Allow chicken to sear about 5 minutes or until browned, then flip. Sear the other side about 5 minutes or until browned.
*Note: the chicken thighs don’t need to be all the way dry before adding to the skillet – no need to wipe them off with a paper towel or anything. However, if they are too wet, they will be simmering in sauce instead of searing and getting that nice brown crust. When you flip them over multiple times or scoot them around the skillet, you’re hindering browning – don’t do that! Put them in the skillet, leave them until browned, then flip. You know what Anne Burrell says: “Brown food tastes good.” Browning food develops deeper flavor!
Once the chicken is seared on each side, add the marinade to the skillet with the chicken. Allow the sauce to come to a boil (this is important since it touched raw chicken), then reduce the heat to medium-low and allow it to simmer for about 20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Here’s our fave digital thermometer if you’re into that.
While the chicken is cooking, chiffonade the kale and then the fresh sage. To chiffonade, stack the leaves on top of each other, roll tightly, then slice into thin strips. Check out this more in-depth tutorial.
Once chicken is cooked through, sprinkle in the kale and allow to wilt. Remove from heat, garnish with the fresh sage and a lemon slice and serve.
Ingredients
Directions
2 hrs-1 day ahead, make the marinade. Combine garlic, coconut milk, chicken broth, crushed red pepper, rosemary, sage, salt, pepper and lemon juice in a blender. Blend until it’s combined and smooth.
Place chicken in a ziplock bag, bowl or pan and pour the marinade over it. Cover and place in the fridge until ready to cook.
Heat the oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Remove chicken from the fridge and wipe off excess moisture. Do not discard marinade. When it’s hot, add chicken to skillet. Allow chicken to sear about 5 minutes or until browned, then flip. Sear the other side about 5 minutes or until browned.
*Note: the chicken thighs don’t need to be all the way dry before adding to the skillet – no need to wipe them off with a paper towel or anything. However, if they are too wet, they will be simmering in sauce instead of searing and getting that nice brown crust. When you flip them over multiple times or scoot them around the skillet, you’re hindering browning – don’t do that! Put them in the skillet, leave them until browned, then flip. You know what Anne Burrell says: “Brown food tastes good.” Browning food develops deeper flavor!
Once the chicken is seared on each side, add the marinade to the skillet with the chicken. Allow the sauce to come to a boil (this is important since it touched raw chicken), then reduce the heat to medium-low and allow it to simmer for about 20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Here’s our fave digital thermometer if you’re into that.
While the chicken is cooking, chiffonade the kale and then the fresh sage. To chiffonade, stack the leaves on top of each other, roll tightly, then slice into thin strips. Check out this more in-depth tutorial.
Once chicken is cooked through, sprinkle in the kale and allow to wilt. Remove from heat, garnish with the fresh sage and a lemon slice and serve.
Our favorite way to tell if meat is cooked? Cut it in half? Well now your chicken looks like it went through a massacre. Just wing it and hope it’s cooked? Salmonella can’t be that bad, can it? Nope…we like to use our kitchen thermometer. According to foodsafety.gov, chicken should be cooked to 165º F. Insert the probe into the thickest part of the chicken, set the temperature alert to 165º F and leave it until it beeps at you that your chicken is done. Juiciness achieved. Fam wowed.
Mother-blogger (watch your mouth). Frugal Foodie. Never measured an ingredient in her life. Modern Minimalist. Hospitalitizer. The plan executor. The design eye. The sweet & salty, sugar & spice, fire & ice, no fuss, no frills, put your big girl panties on and take it like a woman. Achiever. Winner. The inclusivist. Your fierce advocate. Best friend to many. True to all.