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LEMON ROAST CHICKEN – serves 4

A mouthwatering and juicy oven baked chicken made with simple seasonings and oven roasted to crispy perfection. I like to prep it a couple hours before baking and let seasonings soak in to meld flavors. I also like to serve it with roasted broccolini and a parsley rice for balance. I also remove it from the refrigerator 45 minutes before roasting to bring it to room temperature.

4 chicken leg quarters
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon pepper
FRESH ground sea salt
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
3 tablespoons FRESH minced Parsley
3-4 lemons, sliced

• Preheat oven to 425°.
• Spray baking sheet/pan with non stick spray.
• In a small bowl whisk together all dry ingredients with the melted butter.
• Trim chicken leg quarters of any excess skin and fat, then pat dry with paper towels.
• Generously brush both sides of chicken quarters with butter mixture.
• Arrange skin side up in the baking sheet.
• Arrange sliced lemons on and around chicken pieces.
• Bake in oven 35 to 45 minutes or until cooked through.
• When chicken is done, remove the pan from the oven and let rest in the pan for 5-10 minutes before serving.
• Serve over prepared rice, spooning pan drippings over top.

NOTE:

• Dark meat such as chicken quarters greatly benefit from cooking to higher internal temps. By removing from oven with internal temperature of 185°, the temperature will continue to rise to 190-195° (which is your actual target temperature) as it rests creating a much juicier and tastier chicken.