Name: Braised Lemon Chicken Breasts
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Ingredients: 4 split bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts (about 3 pounds), ribs removed (see below); 2 tablespoons olive oil; 12 shallots , peeled and halved lengthwise if large; 16 cloves garlic , peeled; 12 cloves left whole, 4 cloves minced; 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves; 1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth; 3 tablespoons lemon juice plus 4 thin slices from 2 lemons; 1 tablespoon honey; 1/4 cup sour cream; 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves

Why This Recipe Works

Chicken and lemon are a classic pairing, but infusing the meat with bold lemon flavor—as we wanted to do in our Braised Lemon Chicken Breasts recipe—can be difficult. Braising the chicken in a lemon sauce proved the best way to retain the lemony flavor, and reducing the braising liquid to make a sauce added another level of lemon flavor. Adding a few lemon slices to the braising liquid as it reduced provided a fresh lemon flavor and brightened the whole dish. Finally, adding sour cream and honey further enhanced our Braised Lemon Chicken Breasts’ lemon flavor.

Before You Begin

Adding the sour cream to the sauce off heat will prevent the sauce from curdling. Shallots are used as a vegetable here, but if you prefer you can add one medium red onion, minced, with the whole garlic cloves instead.

Instructions

Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Cook chicken skin side down until well browned, about 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer chicken to large plate.

Reduce heat to medium and add shallots, whole garlic cloves, and 1/2 teaspoon salt to empty pan. Cook until vegetables begin to soften and turn spotty brown, about 5 minutes. Add minced garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in broth, lemon juice, and honey. Return chicken (skin side up) and accumulated juices to skillet. Bring to boil, cover, and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until thickest part of chicken registers 160 degrees, 20 to 25 minutes.

Transfer chicken to serving platter and tent with foil. Add lemon slices to pan, increase heat to high, and boil until sauce is slightly thickened, about 7 minutes. Off heat, whisk in sour cream and parsley and season with salt and pepper. Pour sauce over chicken. Serve.