Broiled Herb Chicken with Lemon Butter Sauce

When it comes to the timing aspect of cooking dinner, I’ve always been a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of girl. I’ve been lucky and usually everything just falls into place and different dishes get ready around the same time. My mom, on the other hand, is way more organized about it; usually when it’s a holiday or she’s otherwise entertaining, I’ll spy a nice, neat little timeline in a notebook on the kitchen counter, with each step meticulously calculated.

The timing gods were smiling on me when I made this dinner.  This Broiled Herb Chicken with Lemon Butter Sauce was served alongside the Savory Vegetable Patties last week.  The chicken literally takes minutes to put together, and as soon as I put it into the oven, I went to work on the vegetable patties.  By the time the patties were done, so was the chicken.  Absolutely perfect.

Broiling gives the chicken a nice, crispy skin and the meat inside ends up very tender.  The seasoning on the chicken and the lemon butter sauce on top just finishes it off nicely.  This is a great go-to recipe when you’re looking for something quick to get you in and out of the kitchen.  Served alongside the vegetable patties or some nicely whipped mashed potatoes, you have the perfect comfort food meal to fight the slight chills of the Fall season.

Three years ago today … a beautiful sunset, a dreamy vacation and an introduction to escargots.

Broiled Herb Chicken with Lemon Butter Sauce
Recipe courtesy of Southern Living magazine, April 2006

1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 (3-3 1/2 lb) broiler-fryer chickens, cut into pieces
3 tablespoons butter, melted
2 teaspoons lemon rind, grated
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon fresh parsley, chopped

In a small bowl, combine the salt, oregano, garlic powder, lemon pepper, paprika and red pepper. Cover a roasting pan with foil and place a rack in it; lightly spray the rack with cooking spray. Skin side down, place the chicken on the rack. Sprinkle the chicken with 2 t of the seasoning mixture. Making sure your oven rack is about 7-8″ from the heat, broil the chicken until golden brown (about 12-15 minutes). Turn the chicken pieces over and sprinkle with the remaining spice mixture. Broil about 8-10 more minutes, or until chicken is done.

Lemon Butter Sauce: Combine the melted butter, lemon rind and lemon juice. Mix well and add in the parsley. Spoon a small amount of sauce over each piece of chicken when served.

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