Crispy Chicken Thighs with Lemon Butter Sauce

Mmmm.. Buttery… Lemony… crispy chicken thighs… Talk about amazing! These chicken thighs with lemon butter sauce are SO amazingly delicious and yet so simple to make, it really kind of blows my mind. For real. 

CHICKEN THIGHS WITH LEMON BUTTER SAUCE

So when I say these chicken thighs are easy to make, I really mean it. While the chicken itself is super tasty, the lemon butter sauce is what brings the majority of the flavor to the party. Lemon juice, lemon zest, and scads of buttery butter.. ohhhh my oh my! It’s finger-lickin’ good I tell ya! 😉 

What ingredients do I need to make this Lemon Butter Sauce?

I’ll bet you have all the ingredients in your home right now. This is what you need: 

• a lemon
• butter
• garlic (fresh or powdered)
• lemon pepper seasoning
• salt and pepper
• oil (optional) 

And then, of course, your chicken thighs. I use the thighs of the chicken because they are the piece of the chicken that I find stays the moistest and has the most flavor. However, that being said, feel free to use your favorite parts. Breasts, legs, wings, necks, head… haha.. j/k about that last one.

Also, if you are going to go through and use the butter required in this dish, then I would also be daring and leave the skin ON the chicken pieces. Leaving the skin on and cooking them the way we do, really imparts even more flavor and brings the crispiness to the dish. 

If you have a cast iron pan, PLEASE use that. If not, that’s totally fine, just use a pan that can be also put in the oven without melting the handle all to hades. Oven proof is what we need here! 

How do I make this buttery chicken dish with the lemon butter sauce??

As I’ve said in so many other blog posts, you know I”m all about the easy. So, grab your chicken thighs, and season ’em all up!

 About 1 minute before putting the chicken in the pan though, throw the oil in there to heat right up. Place SKIN SIDE DOWN on a preheated pan.

Once you set the chicken in the pan, LEAVE IT ALONE. Don’t touch it.. don’t nudge it… almost don’t even give it the side eye.  Place a splattering pan on it (no lid please), and let it do its thing. 

You want to let the skin render out some of that fat and then start to get really crispy. Once it has a nice deep caramelization on it, then carefully put it in the preheated oven.  Halfway through, give the chicken a turnover. 

When the chicken is cooked thoroughly, (165F), remove it from the oven and take the chicken out to set on a plate.

Add the butter to the pan.

Add the lemon juice and zest and other seasonings. Let it come to a boil and reduce slightly. 

Add the chicken back, skin side up. 

Now you have two choices for serving this chicken. You can: 

• Spoon the lemon butter sauce over the top of the chicken while still in the pan, and then lift the chicken back out onto plates to serve, or,
• Place the chicken onto plates, and then spoon the Lemon Butter sauce over the tops of the chicken thighs and rice or potatoes or whatever side you wish to serve it with.
•  

Either way, .. DELICIOUS will be on your plate!!!  This chicken dish reminds me of one of my other favorite chicken dish, Crispy, Buttery Buffalo Baked Chicken.

That recipe is so delicious as well and that extra kick from the buffalo sauce is excellent. It’s like eating super big chicken wings! LOL

I hope that you decide to make this chicken with lemon butter sauce dish. If you do, please consider commenting below what you thought of it, or how you changed it anyway, if you did. I love hearing new twists on my recipes! Thanks for stopping by The Salty Pot today!! 

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