Meyer Lemon Baked Chicken

Citrus & chicken make a wonderful duo. Especially when that citrus is in the form of a Meyer lemon. For more on these lemons check out a previous post. Here is what you will need to make this recipe.

Ingredients

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

2 Meyer lemons

1/2 cup chicken broth or stock

dried or fresh thyme

freshly ground black pepper

kosher salt

The first step is to prepare the lemon. Using a zester, remove the zest from the Meyer lemon. Set the zest aside for later use. Now juice one lemon. You should get about 1/4 cup of juice. Meyer lemons are very juicy for their size.

Now to prepare the chicken, you want to increase it’s surfact to mass ratio, so that it will cook quicker and you will have more surface to brown. To do this, take your chicken, one piece at a time, and place it on a layer of plastic wrap. Then put another piece of plastic wrap over this and use a meat pounder to flatten the chicken breast. Do the same thing with the other piece. Then place each breast into a large plastic zip top bag. Pour your lemon juice into the bag. Place the bag into a container, just in case it leaks, and place into the fridge for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Our next step will be to brown the chicken to bring in more flavor. Remove the chicken from the plastic bag. Season both sides of the chicken to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Then you will need to coat each side of the chicken with flour. Now add a small amount of oil to a frying pan, do not use non-stick because you are going to built a sauce. Heat the pan up over high heat and place cook each chicken breast until they are brown.

< Now mix together your chicken broth, thyme (use as much as you want), and the zest from the lemon. Pour into a baking dish and place the chicken in the dish. Then slice up the other lemon and place two slices on each chicken breast. Place in the oven and cook for 30 minutes. Check if the chicken is done by using an digital instant read thermometer. You are looking for at least 165 degrees in the center of the chicken. The chicken should have no pick in the middle. Be sure your chicken is cooked thoroughly before eating.

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