Rao’s Famous Lemon Chicken

Lemon Sauce

Ingredients

• 2 (2 1/2 to 3 pound) broiling chickens, halved
• 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
• Olive Oil
• Kosher Salt
• Lemon sauce, recipe follows

Lemon Sauce

• 2 cups fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup olive oil
• 4 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

Chicken

1. Lightly coat chicken with olive oil and sprinkle on both sides with salt.
2. Preheat the broiler for at least 15 minutes. Broil both sides of chicken in the oven on high for approximately 10–15 minutes on each side or until golden brown and slightly charred, cooking the chicken 3/4 of the way. (Cooking time may vary depending on your broiler and location, we made this at high altitude and broiled for 25–30 minutes per side).
3. While the chicken is broiling, make the lemon sauce.
4. Remove chicken from oven and allow it to cool enough to handle.
5. Using a very sharp knife, cut each 1/2 chicken into about 6-7 pieces (leg, thigh in 2, wing, breast in 2 or 3 pieces). For uniform presentation, cut the ends off the drumsticks.
6. Arrange chicken pieces, skin side down, in an ovenproof rimmed dish or pan. Staring skin side down on the final broil will allow you to finish skin side up, resulting in crispier chicken.
7. Pour marinade all over chicken.
8. Broil in oven for 3–4 minutes on high to finish cooking the chicken and heat the marinade through.
9. Turn chicken skin side up, so all the chicken absorbs the marinade, then broil for another 3–4 minutes.
10. Plate up the chicken and pour juice over the chicken, make sure to include a spoon or ladle on the platter to serve juice. If serving individually, serve a few pieces of chicken for each person in a bowl with plenty of juice and crusty bread.
11. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley!

Notes

Did You Make This Recipe?