You Should Spread Lemon Curd on the Chicken
As a child, I was always a big fan of beef, and pork was my second meat. Unless it was battered and fried, I didn’t have much time for chicken. I thought it was boring, tasteless, prosaic. But an experienced chef can make a chicken really tasty, and a creative chef can make it stand out. Eli Slagle is one such creative cook, and her Lemon Curd Caramelized Chicken is one such bird.
This is a simple and smart recipe that she shared on TikTok – chicken with lemon without lemons. She churns the bird, then tucks the seasoned lemon curd under the skin before brushing the rest on top. She then roasts it in the oven at 400℉ until the thickest part of the thigh reaches 165℉. Very simple.
At first glance, it may seem that this chicken is too sweet. Curd contains a lot of sugar, but the sugar is delicious and most of the sugar caramelizes or in my case chars a little.
I was excited to make this bird, but two things kept me from grabbing a whole chicken: my weak air conditioner and my broken refrigerator. My air conditioner can barely keep up with the weather, and adding a 400-degree oven to the mix wasn’t very appealing, so I wanted some bird parts to fit in my deep fryer. I also currently work with a mini fridge and storing two leftover chicken thighs is much easier than storing a leftover chicken carcass.
However.
I scaled down the recipe a bit for four thighs, then tucked in and smeared them with seasoned cottage cheese as directed in the TikTok video. I omitted the water in the pot as puddles of water are incompatible with the deep fryer, but left everything else exactly the same. I then deep-fried the thighs at 400 degrees, which may have been overkill because the skin had become very dark.
However, I had nothing to worry about because these were some of the best chicken thighs I have ever tasted. The meat was incredibly juicy, and although the skin looked charred, it wasn’t bitter at all. (However, I would recommend lowering the temperature to 350℉ to give you a little more control over browning.)
The resulting glaze and juices from the pan were sticky sweet and tangy, like the citrus glazed chicken you find at the mall. Curd under the skin soaked into the meat, making it incredibly juicy and fragrant. I placed two thighs in quick succession.
This recipe is pretty perfect on its own, but needs a little tweaking. You can add cayenne pepper for a sweet spiciness, cumin for character, or MSG for extra umami. You can (and should) curd a whole chicken, but it’s best to start with the thighs if you want to work on a smaller scale.
Sticky chicken thighs with lemon curd
Ingredients:
- 4 chicken thighs with skin and on the bone
- 1/4 cup lemon curd
- 2 teaspoons salt, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
- Olive oil
Preheat oven to 400℉ if using. If you are using an air fryer, wait until the chicken is smeared with cottage cheese before setting it to 350℉ (unless you want your skin to be very dark like mine).
Mix cottage cheese with 1 teaspoon salt and white pepper. Then season the thighs with the remaining salt and pepper (if you really like pepper). Slide about 3/4 of the curd mixture under your skin, then brush the rest on each thigh. Place the thighs in the deep fryer basket (if using) or place them in a roasting pan with 1/4 cup water. Drizzle the upper thighs with olive oil.
If you are using an air fryer, cook at 350℉ for 15 minutes or so, or until the thickest part reaches 165℉. If you are using an oven, bake at 400℉ until they reach the same temperature in the same place. Serve immediately with a fresh lemon wedge.