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Big Little Bites > chicken

Rich People Chicken

Posted on by biglittlebites

My grandparents were from Provence, so the combination of lavender and thyme is no stranger to me and has always been a favorite in the kitchen. It wasn’t until more recent years, when a friend used it on dark meat chicken in conjunction with honey, and my mind was blown. There’s just something about bone-in chicken thighs and drumsticks, that work so well with this flavor combo!

Lavender Thyme Chicken smells so good when it’s roasting, your mouth will be watering. Affectionately referred to as “rich people chicken,” it looks even more beautiful than it smells… and you’ll see what I mean, when you feast your eyes on the golden, crispy crust that forms. 

So why and how did lavender thyme chicken become “Rich People Chicken?” It all started when I attended an annual Blogger Brunch here in Atlanta, hosted by my friend Meghan at Donut Worry Be Healthy. I met some amazing new blogger friends that also love to eat (imagine that!) and we were sitting around, each sharing one recipe that we’d love for each other to try making. I started talking about my Lavender Thyme Chicken: “it’s SO good, and looks so delicious on a platter… wait until your dinner guests smell how amazing it is…. they’ll think you spent hours making it… it’s really super easy and is just SO yummy… it’s with lavender, and sounds and smells really fancy…” To which one friend responded jokingly, “oh, so people will think you’re rich if you make it for them?” YES. It’s rich people chicken! You’re super fancy if you make this. Just saying.

How to Make Easy Lavender Thyme Chicken

Stock up on these ingredients and stash them in your pantry! Lavender Thyme Chicken is such an easy, delicious and savory recipe, you’ll want to make it again. I buy dried, culinary-grade lavender buds here, or from a gourmet grocer (like Whole Foods) in the bulk herbs and spices section. Fresh thyme works well (double up the quantity) but for ease, I stick with dried thyme most of the time. 

I love that this Lavender Thyme Chicken recipe works great with any bone-in chicken. Whether it be bone-in thighs, drumsticks, breasts or the whole shebang – start by trimming any fat and seasoning both sides with salt and pepper. I prefer bone-in to boneless because it yields more flavor and is less prone to drying out during cooking. I love prepping poultry on this butcher tray (pictured below) and has a rim to catch any drippings. The butcher tray also fits perfectly onto a fridge shelf and I also use it to defrost meats or chicken, because the lip catches any packaging leaks as it thaws, preventing contamination in my fridge.

* When you click on my favorite product links, I earn a tiny commission from qualifying purchases, at no cost to you*

raw chicken thighs and legs on a butcher tray

If you’re hosting a dinner party, go ahead and prep the lavender, thyme, honey, lemon and oil mixture the day before. Baste the chicken in the marinade, wrap it well and let it marinate overnight in the fridge. The next day, simply transfer the pieces to a parchment paper lined baking sheet and drizzle any juices from the butcher tray, on top. Don’t cook the chicken on the butcher tray! Drizzle the Lavender Thyme Chicken with more olive oil and honey before placing it in the preheated oven, to ensure that crispy, golden crusted skin.

If you’re just throwing together a quick family dinner, it’ll be just fine to make it all the same day! Marinating overnight just allows the maximum flavor to develop.

herb crusted lavender thyme bone in chicken thighs and drumsticks on a butcher tray

I am very conscious of trying to never char our food and I hope you will be too. I know in America, we have this whole thing about blackened grill marks, and extra-crispy food – but guess what? Those black marks? They’re literally chemicals forming, that are carcinogenic! I don’t want you to feed that to yourself, or your littles – so please keep an eye on your food and recognize the exact point to give it a flip, a baste or lower the temperature so you get the perfect bronzed dish, without the char!

herb crusted chicken thighs and drumsticks on a plate

roasted lavender thyme bone-in chicken thighs on a plate
Print Recipe

Lavender Thyme Chicken

Affectionately reffered to by friends, as "rich people chicken," this dish will make you feel and look fancy. Minimal effort. It's a promise.
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: French
Servings: 6

Ingredients

  • 5 lbs bone-in chicken thighs, drumsticks, breasts or a whole chicken (butterflied)
  • 3 tbsp honey
  • 1/2 lemon, juiced
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 3 tbsp dried lavender buds
  • salt + pepper, to taste

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees farenheit.
  • Line a rimmed baking sheet or roasting pan with parchment paper.
  • In a small bowl, combine lemon juice, olive oil and honey, whisking with a fork briefly.
  • Add dried thyme. Working in small batches, roll lavender buds between your fingers to crush them as you add them to the mix. Stir well and let the flavors meld while you trim any fat from the chicken.
  • Arrange the chicken flat in a storage container or bag if you're marinating overnight. If you're cooking that day, arrange the chicken side by side on the baking sheet. Salt and pepper both sides of the chicken pieces, and using a basting brush, apply the marinade all over. If it's a roasting chicken, get your fingers up under the skin to loosen it, so you can apply the mixture as a rub underneath (the skin).
  • Prior to roasting, drizzle additional olive oil and a little more honey, all over the top of the chicken.
  • If roasting a whole chicken, stuff the cavity with one lemon cut into quarters and a couple of garlic cloves. Roast for 45-60 minutes.
  • If roasting chicken drumsticks, cook for 45 minutes.
  • If roasting thighs, cook for 30 minutes.
  • If roasting breasts, cook for 40 minutes.
  • * Always check to ensure chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees *

Roast Harissa Chicken Sheet Pan with Creamy Garlic Sauce

Posted on by biglittlebites

Dinner on One Pan

Been wanting to try a sheet-pan dinner? Since I have this pretty intense obsession with all the flavor that is harissa, I set out to make one of my favorite chicken recipes, in a sheet pan! Harissa reigns from North Africa and is a spice mixture made from a combination of smoked chili peppers, red pepper, cumin, caraway, coriander, garlic and mint. It’s flavor profile is complex and fiery and adds depth to traditional roast chicken. When paired alongside the flavors of garlic, lemon and cilantro in this Roast Harissa Chicken Sheetpan with Creamy Garlic Sauce, the result is a mouthwatering, full-flavored dish cooked all on one pan!

Sheet pan chicken makes for a super easy clean-up, and a delicious meal! Win-win, right?! The flavor is out of this world, bright and spicy at the same time, and is sure to impress your family and friends. Now, one could make harissa from scratch, or you could keep things easy and simply purchase a spice blend that you mix on a 1:1 ratio with water and rub into your chicken. I go the latter route, and find it helps me get a big meal on the table faster, for my hungry family of 6! *When you click on my favorite product links, I may earn a tiny commission from qualifying purchases, at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting Big Little Bites blog*

 

How to Make Roast Harissa Chicken

Once you rub the harissa seasoning onto all of the chicken, you want it to marinate for at least 30 minutes. On weeknights, that’s about all I have time for to be honest! However, when I am entertaining family and friends, I like to marinate the chicken for at least 2 hours, or even overnight in the fridge, to get the most intense flavor.

While I let the chicken marinate, I start working on the garlic sauce. Simply place all of the ingredient in a blender or food processor, and puree until smooth, adding more water as needed. Fresh cilantro paired with lemon and raw garlic, creates the perfect tart and spicy flavor combination for this dish. Hate cilantro? Flat leaf parsley will work well also, giving the dish only a slightly different taste.

Combine the marinated chicken, chickpeas, potatoes and carrots in a bowl and toss to spread some of the marinade before spreading on the sheet pan. Place into the preheated oven for 20 minutes, pulling it back out halfway through, to add the leek (or red onion) and lemon mixture evenly across the top. Once the sheet pan is completely finished roasting, it is ready to be served. Since potatoes, chickpeas and carrots are roasted right alongside chicken on the sheet pan, this meal is all-inclusive, minimizing the need for side dishes, work and cleanup in the kitchen.

Plate the servings with a drizzle of garlic sauce, or a dollop on the side for dipping. 

This feeds 5-6 people.

roasted chicken thighs on a sheet pan with carrots and potatoes
roasted chicken thighs on a sheet pan with carrots and potatoes
Print Recipe
5 from 1 vote

Roast Harissa Chicken Sheet pan with Creamy Garlic Sauce

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Servings: 6

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp harissa spice mixture, dry paprika, caraway, crushed red chili pepper, cayenne, coriander, cumin, garlic, peppermint
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 2 tbsp water
  • 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 3 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 2.5 lbs chicken thighs and breasts
  • 1 c sprouted chickpeas, raw or you may use cooked unsprouted chickpeas
  • 4 carrots, sliced horizontally and halved
  • 1 lb Yukon Gold potatoes, sliced into 1/2" thick rounds
  • 1/2 red onion, or 1 leek, cut into 1/2" thick slices
  • zest of one lemon
  • 3 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper

Creamy Garlic Sauce

  • 1/2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1/2 c mayonaise or veganaise
  • 1/4 c cilantro leaves
  • juice of one lemon
  • 1 tbsp water as needed, to thin out

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees farenheit.
  • In a measuring cup or small bowl, mix the spices with the minced garlic, water and oil; set aside.
  • Trim fat from the chicken pieces, and place them in a large bowl. Pour the spice blend over the chicken, and rub it into all of the pieces really well. Add the potatoes and carrots to the bowl and set the mixture aside for at least 30 minutes, while you start the creamy garlic sauce (directions below).
  • Put the sliced leeks into a small bowl with the lemon zest and a shake of salt and toss.
  • Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the chicken, carrot and potato mixture evenly across the pan. Cook in the oven for 20 minutes. Leaving the oven on, pull out the rack with the sheetpan, flip the chicken pieces and top everything with the leek and lemon zest mixture. Roast for another 30 minutes.
  • Serve with the creamy garlic sauce.

Creamy Garlic Sauce

  • Place all of the ingredients into a food processor and process until smooth.
  • If the mixture is too thick, add 2 tbsp of water a little bit at a time until the desired consistency is reached.

Double Coconut Chicken

Posted on by biglittlebites

Heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit

Ingredients

4 organic chicken breasts, filleted

1/4 c full-fat coconut milk

2 tbsp virgin, unrefined, expeller-pressed coconut oil, melted

1 c unsweetened coconut flakes or chips

1/4 tsp Redmonds Real Salt

1/8 tsp cracked black pepper or red pepper

1/4 c chopped organic cilantro

 

Directions

Place chicken in a bowl or dish and coat breasts in coconut milk. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Put coconut flakes in a shallow plate, and coat each side of the fillets, by dipping them into the plate. Last, drizzle tops with melted coconut oil.

Cook for 20 minutes and top with chopped cilantro.