Crispy Lemonade Chicken
| August 11, 2010 | Posted by Reeni under Chicken recipes, Lemon, Lemon Chicken, Main Dishes |
A recipe for oven-fried chicken with a crunchy lemon and panko coating. A chicken so incredibly tender that every bite will melt in your mouth with a burst of lemon sunshine. Thanks to the marinade. A combination of fresh lemon juice, lemon zest and buttermilk. And to the coating. A mixture of panko, thyme and more lemon zest.
I think everyone should have a good, oven-fried chicken recipe up their sleeve. Just like this one. Equally delicious hot from the oven, at room temperature or cold, this is a perfect addition to your picnic basket! Nothing is more classic. With the zingy lemon, crispy crust and juicy insides this is far too tempting to pass up. Everyone will love it. It’s that good.
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Lemonade Chicken
(adapted from Food Network Magazine)
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest, divided
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup water
1 cup buttermilk*
3 1/2 to 4 pounds chicken pieces, bone-in, skin-on
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped or 1 teaspoon dried
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1/4 cup mayonnaise**
Olive-oil cooking spray
1. Mix 1 tablespoon lemon zest and lemon juice in a large bowl. Whisk in water and buttermilk. Pierce chicken pieces several times with a fork and season well with salt and pepper. Toss in the marinade making sure all sides are well coated, cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Bring the chicken to room temperature. Put the panko, thyme, the remaining lemon zest, cayenne, 1 teaspoon salt, and black pepper to taste in a large resealable plastic bag and shake to mix. Put the mayonnaise in a wide, shallow bowl. Set a rack on a baking sheet and spray with cooking spray.
3. Remove the chicken from marinade, dip in the mayonnaise, then drop into the bag and shake to coat, transfer to the rack.
4. Mist the chicken with cooking spray. Bake until golden, about 35 minutes, flip and bake until cooked through (breasts don’t need to be turned), juices should run clear and internal temperature should reach 165-174 degrees F.
*To make your own buttermilk add 1 tablespoon white vinegar or apple cider vinegar to a 1 cup measure. Fill to 1 cup line with milk. Let sit for 10-15 minutes or until the milk curdles.
**You can leave out the mayonnaise and still get good results. Make sure the chicken is well coated in the marinade before dipping in the panko.
Printable Recipe
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I’m guest hosting for my friend Allie of Eat at Allie’s today with one of my favorite dinner salads. I’d love it if you stopped by and said hi!
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Chicken in any format is fine with me. This one does look very appealing. Thanks.
This looks amazing! I can't wait to try out the recipe. Thanks again for a great guest post! :)
Hello there Reeni,I just added your latest chicken recipe to my blog.http://cookingupastorminca.ning.com/profiles/blogs/lemonade-chicken-from-myIt went really well with a recipe I posted right before it for Pan Fried Chicken that has much less fat than traditional chicken.I would love to hear from you some time!Polly MotzkoCookingUpAStorminCA@gmail.com
Yum, this just sounds so flavorful and delicious I love the lemonade component. We had a pork loin that we made with lemonade and it was so savory and delicious about like this tastes I bet.
And it's oven-baked! Be still my heart. All that zest and crunch and it's frob the oven.
I love oven-baked/fried chicken and yours look fantastic and perfectly crispy. This is similar to what I've done before but I have to try this and get all the flavors. Perfect!
Oooh–I love the nice crunch you've got going on here!
looks like another winner for my fam! hello favorites tab :)
O, that sounds delicious. And so light and lovely or summer.
The joys of having a supply of panko handy. :) This looks fantastic. I think I'll make myself a crispy chicken sandwich. Yum!!
That is the most beautiful crispy chicken…I bet the lemon adds a nice summery touch :)
Yum Yum! Lemony crisp chicken something I would like to have any time and the best part is, crisp yet not fried.
This looks perfectly delicious–love the panko and all the lemon too. The fact that it is oven-baked just makes it all the better. ;-)
Lemonade chicken — what a lovely idea! Love the pooh quote, above, too, by the way. I just came across it recently in a magazine and cut it out to save it :) Happy cooking and eating.
Wow, this looks really crispy and delicious. I like that it is baked and not fried. Yummy…
Yum! Marinated and then oven fried…with all of those delicous flavors, this must be great! Thanks for sharing it. Looking forward to trying:)
looks very good! can you tell me how you put a link to the printable recipe? I would love to do that! great idea too, because many times i have to copy and paste the recipe into a word doc and then print
I agree with you about having a good oven fried chicken recipe up your sleeve. Lemon flavoring annnd chicken go so well together. I will have to add this to my repertoire.Mmmm your chicken looks so crunchy!
Finger-licking good and crispy! Reeni, this is definitely a crowd pleaser.
looks crunchy!!mouth watering recipe!!
the title itself had me running over here! YUMMY! i love lemon chicken!
Looks like we're both making a version of fried chicken this week! I love marinating my chicken in buttermilk and I like that this recipe requires you to pierce the chicken so that it really soaks in. I'll definitely be trying that next time around:) I had to break out the deep fryer for mine, but I would have preferred this oven method. The wonders of panko. It looks delicious.
Oh my gosh, how cool!!! I can almost feel the tang in my cheeks just thinking about it. Love this recipe =)
Darn! Now I'm craving chicken at 10:00 am!
I think these ingredients may need to be bought at the grocery store this weekend.. I love oven fried chicken makes me think of shake and bake :)
I have never heard of lemonade chicken, but it sounds delicious.
Indeed it looks so crispy. I love the flavors!
I need to make this before the end o the summer! Lemon is so great for hot days, and this is a wonderful recipe!
oh that looks great!
I've seen lemon chicken recipes but never one where the skin on the chicken was crispy. I think this is a recipe I'd really enjoy making – thanks for sharing it!
oh wow! I love lemon chicken and I agree, having a good fried chicken recipe is a MUST!
Yum yum, it looks delicious, and I am vegetarian… I want to try this super appetizing crunchy crust on some marinated tofu :-)
This sounds delicious Reeni! I love the panko breadcrumbs with the addition of lemon zest to them. Wow!
I have been loving loving loving lemon lately. I want to coat everything in it. Next up – chicken.
yumm, maybe I should check your blog at night rather than daytime these days :),looks absolutely delicious
Even the name of this chicken recipe makes me hungry! What a fun one! It looks terrific! ;)
I'm all for anything lemon and this is no exception.Mimi
Yea this totally sounds good first and looks good second! I love panko…doesn't everyone? I hope I get to make this on Sunday.
Isn't it amazing how great lemon can make almost anything taste? This recipe looks wonderful…nice and crunchy with the brightness of lemon flavor!
The lemon sounds like a great addition. I'm sure it would be great with boneless skinless chicken breasts as well.
Love that it is done in the oven! I love crispy chicken, but can't bring myself to eat fried (except on a rare occasion!).
Wow, this is a wonderful oven fried chicken dish. Lemon and panko would be a great crispy flavor combination. This recipe is a keeper!
Yum! The chicken looks so crunchy! Thanks for sharing!
Oh my gosh another great chicken recipe to try, thanks Reeni! We eat chicken at least three times a week so I'm always looking for new ways to prepare it.
*sigh* this looks like something I would eat a lot of…
this sounds so good. lemon and chicken just go so well. and of course making it crispy is the best.
I just love using panko, I use it all the time. I much prefer it over regular bread crumbs. This sounds like a wonderful dish, Reenie, thanks for sharing!
That sounds delicious. I don't think I've ever seen Panko in the grocery stores here though.
I've done something similar, but without the lemon, I bet that adds a lot!
It sounds delicious! And what a cute name :)
Reeni, what a fabulous dish! All of my favorites combined into one. Love it!
Sounds delicious. I am not a chicken fan, but maybe this could sell me. I like that the panko and lemon give it a twist on typical fried chicken.
I've been thinking about making oven-fried chicken for Mike! Now I don't have to look any further for a recipe — this looks amazing Reeni!
This sounds fabulous! I've never marinated chicken in buttermilk before but it sure sounds good.
I would love to have that for dinner tonight. It looks so much easier than frying it and I'm glad you noted you can make it without the mayo with good results.
The buttermilk bath and the dip in mayo must make for a tangy tasty chicken!
This looks so good! I wasn't expecting Lemonade chicken to be crispy like that! Yum I'd love it for sure!
I love the name "Lemonade chicken" – this sounds so good with the burst of lemon flavor!
Delicious and outstanding recipe ♥
Mmmm, looks great! I love regular fried chicken, but not the mess or the inches that it leaves behind. This looks great! I'll have to try this!
mhhhhhh, the crunchy coating of yur chicken is gorgeous dear! And lemon makes it even more delicious. I'd like to have some now. Bye
Love everything about this! The buttermilk…mayonnaise..yum!
you can't go wrong with this one. Sounds great.
This does sound utterly delicious. And how well written this post is! Your description practically makes my mouth water!
I made oven fried chicken on Monday! Going to go check out your picadillo…
What a creative recipe! I look oven-fried chicken because there is no guilt! A beautiful dish!
Love the name of this recipe and it certainly looks like it lives up to it! Yum!Hugs and nosetaps to Moon!
Oven-fried or baked is a clever no-mess way of getting crispy chicken. I like it.
great recipe, I love lemon with chicke and oven baked even better…sweetlife
cinnamon girl!I am surely making this. I mean something so lemony is realy gonna be super nice. And panko is another star! I may actually do this with some tilapia I have on hand :)Good one
YES please! Reeni this looks divine. All my favorite ingredients in this one. Love it – thanks for sharing!
Ohh yum! I love that these look so crispy without being fried!
Oh I so can't wait to try this!! It looks awesome and LOVE lemon!
Your chicken looks delicious. I, too love a crucnhy coating on my chicken. And lemon really brightens it up. I just might have this for dinner tonight, with rice. Yum! Thanks.
Panko makes everything crunchy. Lemon and its zest has intoxicating aroma. Nice marinade and chicken got a make over Reeni. Looks delicious.