Pan fried first to get that crispy skin, then baked to cook them all the way through, this is one of those chicken dinners you’ll be forgiven if you make it once a week. Plus, the optional bonus of making more sauce on the stove top, until it thickens and caramelises in its special honey way, for extra drizzling to serve. I’ve made this as easy as I can for those rushed weeknights. It’s literally a case of whisk everything together, bake and done!
Honey Garlic Sauce
I’m not going to lie here. Every time I make this sauce, I’m caught between stirring it and blowing it like my life depends on it, trying to cool it down so I can keep drinking it from a spoon. Yes, I shamelessly admit this happens straight out of the pan. The problem when finally making it for my blog is, I had husband and children behind me, breathing down my neck waiting for me to finish.
Now, there was a time we tried Honey Lemon Chicken, and while it’s nice and all, adding garlic to the recipe just takes it to a whole other level of flavour. The chicken is juicy, the skin comes out crispy and sticky all at the same time. And let me just add, I have a lot of time for sticky chicken. Much like these Sticky Thai Chicken Wings.
This is one of our dinners that you’ll see me running into the supermarket to buy only chicken thighs because I have the rest of the ingredients at home. I LOVE it when I have ALL the ingredients.
I mean, HELLO SUCCULENT Honey Lemon Garlic Chicken. It’s so soft and tender that it reminds me of the Juicy Oven Baked Chicken Breast!
Juicy Honey Lemon Garlic Chicken with a crispy skin and a sweet, sticky sauce with ingredients you have in your kitchen cupboard! Pan fried first to get that crispy skin, then baked to cook them all the way through. This is one of those chicken dinners you'll be forgiven if you make it once a week. Plus, the optional bonus of making more sauce on the stove top, until it thickens and caramelises in its special honey way, for extra drizzling to serve.
Ingredients
5bone in skin on chicken thighs
1pinchsaltto taste
1/2cuphoney
1/4cuplemon juicefresh squeezed, or juice of 1 lemon
1tablespoonsoy sauce
1tablespoonrice wine vinegar
2garlicheaping tablespoons, minced
6clovesgarlicpeeled
4lemon slicesand zest to garnish
1handfulgreen onionssliced, to garnish
Instructions
Preheat oven to 360°F | 180°C.
Place chicken thighs in a large shallow dish and season with salt; set aside.
In a large mixing jug, whisk together the honey, lemon juice, soy sauce, vinegar and minced garlic. Pour about 1/4 cup of the sauce over the chicken (or just enough to lightly coat each thigh) and rotate each thigh to coat evenly in the sauce.
Heat an oven-proof skillet over medium high heat; sear the chicken skin side down first until golden for about 5 minutes. Turn and repeat on the other side. Drain most of the excess oil from the pan, leaving about 1 tablespoon for added flavour.
Arrange chicken skin-side up in the pan; add the whole garlic cloves between the chicken; pour half of the remaining sauce over each thigh (about 1-2 tablespoons per thigh) and bake for 40-45 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the juices run clear. The skin should be crispy and sticky.
While the chicken is baking, pour the remaining sauce into a small pot (or saucepan), and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat down to low and allow to simmer while occasionally stirring; lifting the pot off of the heat when the sauce bubbles up to the rim of your pot, and repeat the process until the sauce has sightly reduced and thickened (about 6 minutes).
Serve with the remaining sauce, lemon zest and slices, and sliced green onions (optional).
Hey Good Food Lovers! It’s nice to see you! My name is Karina. Welcome to Cafe Delites, my beloved space for the last 10 years where my passion for food has flourished and connected millions!
This recipe was on a Passover recipes board. You cant use real soy sauce nor can you use rice wine vinegar (unless you are sephardic). How can I adapt this to make it kosher for Passover?
Have made this twice and it has been wonderful both times. I like recipes that work according to directions and don’t necessarily need “tinkering”. Thanks! It is however easily adapted to be gluten free, which is an extra benefit.
This recipe was on a Passover recipes board. You cant use real soy sauce nor can you use rice wine vinegar (unless you are sephardic). How can I adapt this to make it kosher for Passover?
Have made this twice and it has been wonderful both times. I like recipes that work according to directions and don’t necessarily need “tinkering”. Thanks! It is however easily adapted to be gluten free, which is an extra benefit.