Auntybea's Lemon Chicken I Made It

Auntybea's Lemon Chicken

gkwillow 12 years ago
Lemon Chicken
posted by Auntybea

Beautiful shiny glaze and beautiful taste, too! I loved this chicken and next time I'll double the sauce, not reduce it quite as much, and eat over rice.

I think this would be a nice dinner party dish, too as I don't know anyone who doesn't like the honey-lemon flavor combo!
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mommyluvs2cook 12 years ago said:

Sounds delicious! I bet this has great flavor! Beautiful pic. too ;)

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frankieanne 12 years ago said:

Wow, how did I miss that one? It looks great! Thanks for showing it so us here. :)

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mrpiggy 12 years ago said:

Gee GK. Thats another great pic. Let me guess..........natural light? I have to get me some of that : )

This really looks good. I bet having it over rice would be perfect. I always have rice around. ....What is poultry seasoning? Is it just a blend of stuff or is that what its really called? Do I have to buy another seasoning? Lordy, I need an extra cabinet just for all those containers. As it is now I forget what I have :(

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gkwillow 12 years ago said:

Hey! You live in California, don't you? So you have more natural light than I do. I don't cook at 10:30 at night, though. ;)

Poultry Seasoning is a blend of spices, but it is sold as Poultry Seasoning as a separate spice. Do you have sage? thyme? You could just mix a little of those with salt & pepper and that would probably be good enough. Or - you could just skip it and the lemon/honey/garlic/ginger would be plenty of flavor. Let me know what you try. Then someday if I don't have Poultry Seasoning, I'll know what to do...

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frankieanne 12 years ago said:

Hey, gkw, if he does the experiment you suggested I guess we could call him Mr. Guinea Piggy, huh?
:-P
OK. I'll leave now.

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gkwillow 12 years ago said:

Can't wait to see what Mr. GP has to say about that one... ;-D

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mrpiggy 12 years ago said:

"Guinea Piggy"....Frankie, that was very cute and witty :) "D"

"Mr GP"..........Sounds important :) Geez. I cant even say "That's 'Mr' to you" cuz you guys both said Mr. ...... But just soz you know, Im already a Guinea pig. Who do you think has to sample what comes out of my kitchen? As Ive said before, some of the stuff looks pretty scary. I need my doggie back. She would eat anything. And she loved it. Now when it looks too ugly I'll wrap it in a tortilla.....out of sight out of mind :)

GK, I do have thyme and sage. Is that all there is to poultry seasoning? I have everything else this recipe calls for. I will be trying it this weekend, however I usually cook late on the weekend and that natural light stuff is becoming more and more scarce......... . I might be having lemon chicken burritos :-O Hammer time?

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frankieanne 12 years ago said:

Hey, Mr. GP :-D
Here is a make it yourself recipe for poultry seasoning:
2 Tablespoons dried marjoram
2 Tablespoons dried savory
2 teaspoons dried parsley
1 Tablespoon dried sage
1-1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 pinch rosemary
1 pinch onion power
So its probably easier to buy it in the grocery store. Its in the spice/herb section sold as Poultry Seasoning as gkw mentions above.
Be careful with that hammer. :)

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gkwillow 12 years ago said:

Just a word of caution Mr. GP - emphasizing what the recipe directions say - DO NOT walk away from the stove when you're reducing the honey/lemon sauce. It reduces and thickens very quickly, and if it boils, the bubbles on top make it kind of difficult to see the actual sauce. All that sugar from the honey could easily burn...

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mrpiggy 12 years ago said:

OK I just finished eating a second plate. This was really good. Mine didnt look anything like yours, GK. I double the sauce. I couldnt get it to thicken much at all. I had it on high for almost 10 minutes trying to get it to thicken. Maybe I had too much sauce? I added some cornstarch to help. Plus I was hungry and getting impatient. I wanted to cook and eat before 10pm. I made it with 16 minutes to spare :) I used 8 1/2 breast so I'll have some leftovers.

Frankie,...Thank you for the ingredients. You're right, it would have been easier to get the poultry spice. Marjoram? Savory <---thats a spice?----really? These 2 I dont have, nor have I heard of. I blended thyme, sage (powder), rosemary, onion powder, and parsley. It smelled pretty good, but my next trip down the spice isle, I will grab the poultry............

Hmm......Do spices expire?

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gkwillow 12 years ago said:

------------------->Sort of, Mr. GP. There are dates on spice containers that say "Best by {date}" Spices just lose strength after they get old, they don't stop working like BAKING POWDER! So check the wording, if it gives an expiration date, you need to get more, if it says "best by" you can probably keep on using it.
------------------->Yes, marjoram and savory are spices that you can easily find in your grocery store, but those are two spices that I don't use a lot of on their own. In other words, I'm sure mine are past the "best by" date!
------------------->Some spices are very similar to others, so if it's something you don't have or have never heard of, just Google it and see if there is something else you can use to substitute.
------------------->I don't have a clue why the sauce didn't thicken for you. Mine almost thickened TOO fast and it was almost too late before I noticed.
------------------->When you add cornstarch to thicken something, do you just sprinkle it directly on the hot liquid and then try to stir it smooth? If you mix the cornstarch (thoroughly) with a little COLD water first, (called a "slurry") and THEN add it to the hot sauce, you won't have problems with lumps. Same with flour if you use that as a thickener.
-------------------->If you're tired of me writing all of this stuff, let me know and I'll shut up.
:-O

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mrpiggy 12 years ago said:

Nope. Keep writing/talking. OK, so BAKING POWDER expires? Any reason baking powder is being used as an example? Dont want to name any names, Frankie.....I mean GK.

Oh, Frankie and GK, I was tempted to use the "Hammer". I had a couple pieces that were much larger then the rest and didnt want them not to fully cook. But I found the will power to leave it on the shelf. Those Foster Farms anger management sessions seem to be helping :)

GK...When you removed your chicken after cooking before making the sauce, was there a lot of water/juice left in the skillet? I had quite a bit. Maybe 1/2-3/4 c. I dont know what I did wrong. After browning I cooked covered. Maybe there was just too much liquid and I should have boiled longer. It was still excellent. Tons or sauce for the rice

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gkwillow 12 years ago said:

I don't really understand how you ended up with that much liquid in the pan after browning the chicken...you must have ended up with very dry meat if that much liquid came out! :(
If I understand the recipe correctly, you just brown the chicken and cook it until it's done - then you remove it - then you add the sauce ingredients to the skillet and simmer them until reduced. Don't return the chicken to the skillet until after the sauce is reduced and just coat the chicken before serving. If you have liquid in the skillet after cooking the chicken, pour it/wipe it out and start the sauce with a dry skillet.
I made the mistake of putting the chicken back and leaving it on low heat while I finished the rest of the meal. The chicken had sort of an outer crust on it from the caramelization of the honey, so next time I'll just put it back in the skillet right before I'm ready to eat...

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frankieanne 12 years ago said:

Mr. Piggy, here is what caused the now famous Baking Powder Incident of 2011.
Oven Pancake
I'm going to have to move this one up on the list. From the sauce ingredients listed it seems like it would thicken up. I'll have to see if I can squeeze this one in this weekend. It sounds like your chicken released too much liquid to get the sauce to thicken up.

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gkwillow 12 years ago said:

Yes, it was a famous incident of 2011, but I think its moment of fame is just about over... I promise I'll let it rest now, Frankieanne! :-)

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gkwillow 12 years ago said:

Oh - Mr. GP - just had a thought. Was the chicken you were using Individually Quick Frozen? If you browned it frozen (which the package says you can do) maybe all of that liquid was coming from the ice glaze that's on the outside of the chicken?

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mrpiggy 12 years ago said:

Frankie, I know about (your) baking powder incident. :) I was just trying to acknowledge an earlier post by GK, who didnt want to name names. I also checked my baking powder after that. Mine expired March 2010. I dont know how long I've had it, but I only remember using it 1 time.

And speaking of baking powder. What is its purpose? What is the dif between that and soda? And if they are expired, should one use more to accommodate?

GK...........as for you letting the baking powder issue rest, Im not so sure. I think you will store that for future reference like some "hammer" incident that comes up now and then :D The chicken was a fresh (at least I assume it was fresh) 4 1/2lb family package. Maybe I should not have cooked it covered not allowing any moisture to escape? I will be trying this again in the near future. I want it to look caramelized like yours. And as for the chicken being dry, only the smaller pieces were.

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frankieanne 12 years ago said:

Mr. Piggy, if your baking powder has expired, you're gonna have to get a new can/box. Its just a sad fact. :) Using more won't help. Here is a link that explains baking powder and soda a lot better than I ever could:
http://www.joyofbaking.com/bakingsoda.html
I'm thinking you had a lot of chicken and it resulted in too much liquid. Cooking it uncovered would have gotten rid of some of that moisture, yes. I have some chicken thawing out now and am hoping to get to this one tonight.
Gkw, that's OK. I was laughing probably more than anyone at it. :)

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gkwillow 12 years ago said:

You're probably right about my not letting the issue rest COMPLETELY - I may be able to restrain myself from saying any more, but I'll certainly never forget it, and when I do think of it, I'll smile. Same with the "hammer" incident which will also go into the books as a famous 2011 event. :)

My method of browning chicken is to start it uncovered and get a nice golden color on both sides. Then to finish it, I cover, but don't put the lid on tight, leave a little room for excess steam to escape. Try that and see if it works for you.

When stuff is past the labeled expiration date, it's usually best to buy fresh and not try to increase the amount to compensate. I'm no chemist, so I won't even try to explain the chemical differences between powder and soda, but I do know that they are different. (for your reading pleasure - http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/06/what-is-the-difference-between-baking-powder-and-baking-soda-in-pancakes.html

Baking is really a series of chemical reactions, so you should use exactly what the recipe calls for (or you might end up with a BOMB!) That's why I'm more of a cook - because you can improvise and add/subtract and the end result will usually be OK. Especially if you wrap it in a tortilla--->out of sight, out of mind! :-D Now where oh where would I have gotten THAT idea????????

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gkwillow 12 years ago said:

Oops, Frankieanne...just noticed that while I was obviously taking too long to write my last comment, you posted yours...
At least we didn't tell Mr. P (or is it GP?) completely different things. :)

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frankieanne 12 years ago said:

Yeah, gkw, it actually sounded like we knew what we were talking about. :-P
OK, I got this made tonight. I only had four boneless, skinless thighs in the house so that's what I used. I paid attention to how much liquid I had when the chicken was done and I would say I had 3 to 4 TBS. of liquid and most of it was fat. I did manage to get the sauce to thicken up, although mine did take a bit of time - I'd say 5 to 6 minutes on near high. I stirred it constantly and when the top was all bubbles and it started turning a darker brown, I figured it would stick to the chicken and it did. Mr. Piggy, this isn't going to thicken up like syrup, I don't think. Did it thicken up that much for you, gkw? The recipe says it is thick when it sticks to the chicken so that's what I looked for.

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frankieanne 12 years ago said:

OK, just put the leftovers away and the cooled sauce is as thick as syrup. Sticky pan to clean! :-D

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gkwillow 12 years ago said:

Very sticky pan to clean! After I put the chicken on the plate and took the photo, I cut it all up into bite sized pieces and then scraped the "syrup" out of the pan and drizzled it on top. So yes, I'd agree with you that after it cooled a bit it did turn syrup-thick.

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mrpiggy 12 years ago said:

Hmmm. That is a LOT of info on powder and soda. I was hoping for a 3 or 4 word explanation :P Thank you, both. I only use soda when I make banana bread. I think one recipe called for powder. I dont really bake, other then that. And rarely have dessert. I would MUCH rather have seconds instead of dessert. When I need something sweet, its usually at night and then I just "go to the freezer and get the box" of ice cream :)

Well as for this recipe, I am going to make it again soon. Your 2 outcomes are what I want to shoot for. (Maybe I should have kept letting it boil). I just ate dinner (made a bunch of sushi) and looking at the two pics you guys did still makes my stomach growl. Dont get me wrong, mine turned out tasting great. I just wanted that caramelized look. I bet it even adds more to the flavor.

I agree Frankie. I think the amount of chicken and having it covered added to excess liquid.. When I think Im really going to like a recipe I usually double it so I will have leftovers

GK, GK, GK. Where ever did you come up with "out of sight, out of mind" :-P My next recipe that doesn't turn out looking right, maybe I will wrap it up in a tortilla and snap off a pic. Heck, I could pass that off for any recipe then.

Oh, and P, GP or Piggy works. I like them all :)

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frankieanne 12 years ago said:

Got to thinking, Mr. P., that if you made this recipe the way you did before you could double everything for the sauce but the water. That should work, I would think. Plus you would have that nice flavor from the chicken liquids in your sauce.

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mrpiggy 12 years ago said:

Thats exactly what I will do, Frankie. Plus, I will brown it a bit more and cook it a bit less. This chicken dish is similar to one I often make , and will now become one often made. Hopefully I will get it right

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DetroitTokyo 12 years ago said:

You all have me cracking up over here with your banter back & forth in these threads :-D

That is a beautiful photo, gkwillow! I might have to give this one a whirl myself..

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gkwillow 12 years ago said:

Thank you, DT. It WAS an interesting chat, wasn't it? I was always anxious to see what Mr. Piggy and Frankieanne were going to say next...I'm sorry it has come to an end!

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frankieanne 12 years ago said:

hehe Well, it would probably get going again if I told you what the "best by" date was on my Poultry Seasoning can when I used some for this recipe. :-P

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