This roast chicken recipe is one of my all-time favorites. Inspired by Melissa Clark’s Goddess Chicken from the New York Times, my version doubles the marinade (which gives you extra sauciness) and I add cilantro, nix the anchovies and swap out shallots for scallions. It’s hard to improve perfection, but there’s a little more herbacious zing in my recipe, if I do say so myself. *GRIN.* Just call my recipe GAWDESS Chicken. As in, GOOD GAWD, this good.
The reason this chicken turns out so dang juicy and tender is a combination of the buttermilk marinade, the fact that these are BONE-IN, SKIN ON chicken thighs, and there’s something about all of that lime zest that just takes the fresh flavor over the top. Read: DON’T skimp on the lime zest!
If you can marinate these bad boys overnight, you’ll have super duper tender perfection, but definitely try to get them in that sauce for at least 6 hours.
All the marinade ingredients go in the blender or a food processor. Just make sure you save a cup BEFORE you add the raw chicken, cuz no one wants a salmonella surprise! It also may seem counterintuitive to roast the chicken at such a high temperature, (500 degrees) but it works out perfectly. Depending on your oven, every so often I’ll put some tin foil over the chicken toward the very end of the cooking time, but a little char on those thighs is ridiculously good. That crispy, savory skin could be a meal all in itself!
If you follow the directions perfectly (don’t adjust cooking temp, for example) this will turn out every. single. time. I’ve made this for my family for the girls in book club— it’s a show stopper of a recipe. For some other rockin’ chicken recipes, check out my Low Carb Fried Chicken with Chipotle Honey, Sheet Pan Lemon Herb Chicken, Chicken Dijon and Skillet Roasted Chicken with Peaches and Mozzarella.
And once that chicken hits the plate, drizzle that buttermilk herb ‘goddess’ sauce on top ( I put it on chilled like a salsa), it’s a “get in my mouth rawt NOW” kind of moment. Make it. Thank me. Claim it’s your own. Thank Melissa Clark for the OG recipe.
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- 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- 3 cups buttermilk
- 1 packed cup basil leaves
- 1 packed cup cilantro
- 1/2 cup chives
- 2 shallots
- 2 limes juice and zest of both limes
- 4 garlic cloves
- 4 tsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp black pepper
- 2 TB olive oil for drizzling
Ingredients
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- Put all marinade ingredients in a blender or food processor until you get a smooth liquid, about 30 seconds.
- Reserve a cup of the marinade to drizzle on chicken for later.
- Put the 8 chicken thighs into a large Ziploc with the rest of the marinade and put in fridge for at least 6 hours, but ideally overnight.
- Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Remove chicken from marinade, and dry off each thigh with paper towel. Discard the used marinade. Lay the thighs on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Roast until cooked through, about 35 minutes. Serve with the reserved marinade spooned over each thigh.
