Crispy Baked Lemon Thyme Garlic Chicken

Here’s a dish you can whip up in no time on weekdays and have on your table in an hour. Chicken is great when roasted, fried chicken is a guilty pleasure (save that for the weekend) and stir-fries and sautes are a quick weekday fix.

Another guilyu pleasure of mine is chicken wings and although I’ll order them at a bar/pub I sometimes also will make them home. Wings are often fried then finished with a hot sauce and butter concoction (aka Buffalo style chicken wings).

I mention chicken wings as the crispy texture of the skin is what makes them so delicious. Today, we’re going to get that same crispy skin without frying them and will little fuss with preparation or cooking.

We’re going to bake the chicken in the oven (not fry) and we’re going to use corn starch to help crisp up the skin (without drying out the chicken). Tossing corn starch in meat is a method borrowed from Asian cuisine and here in Toronto, I love crispy beef or chicken, often found at Hakka eateries throughout the city (Hakka is a regional cuisine from the border region of China & India).

The method here is Asia, the flavours are more along the line of my Greek tastes…lots of garlic, salt and pepper, lemon zest and lemon juice, chilli flakes and thyme. These ingredients get tossed with your chicken (in this case drum sticks) and when they come out of the oven, I drizzle a quick honey mustard I whip up in a bowl.

I made this last night, empty platter is all the evidence I have of a delicious and satiating weekday meal.

Crispy Baked Lemon Thyme Garlic Chicken

(serves 4-6)

1 kg. of chicken drum sticks

1/4 cup of corn starch

zest and juice of 2 lemons

6 cloves of garlic (or 2 Tbsp. garlic powder)

3 tsp. sea salt

1 tsp. black pepper

1/2 tsp. Boukouvo (chilli flakes)

2 Tbsp. sugar

2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves

Garnish

1/4 cup honey

2 Tbsp. mustard

1. Pre-heat your oven to 375F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place your chicken in a large bowl and add the remaining ingredients and toss well with your hands.
2. Empty the chicken on your baking sheet, spread the chicken out evenly and place in your pre-heated oven for approx. 1 hour (fter 30 minutes flip the drum sticks over).
3. Meanwhile, mix the honey and mustard in a bowl and set aside until the chicken is done. Drizzle the honey mustard on top of the chicken and serve.

© 2013,
Peter Minakis
. All rights reserved.