Lemon Chicken – Frango com Limão

Posted on September 27, 2007 
Filed Under Food

Growing up, I was fortunate to have a mom who loved trying different dishes; my father would often look at his plate in amazement and ask, “O…que é isto?” (Um…what is this?). But being a good sport and a closet foodaholic he devoured everything…Italian, Mexican, Asian, French…mom crossed the globe a few times over in her kitchen. Then there were the “favorites” - like “Frango com Limão”, an old Portuguese recipe that filled the house with a wonderful smell and never disappointed.

Lemon Chicken Portuguese Style - Yum

I had forgotten about Frango com Limão until, I recently stumbled on an award winning Vinho Verde. Maybe because the days are starting to cool and the thought of comfort food is closing in again, or maybe it’s because I’m trying to hold on to my Verdes as long as possible. Either way the wines description of “citrus and tropical flavours” sparked an immediate thought of Frango com Limão and what the two would taste like together. The result was wonderful, and from Moses’ reaction, Lemon chicken is a favorite all over again.

This is a very flavorful recipe that makes you feel like your cheating, but the results are so good… you get over it quickly with a great glass of Vinho Verde. Its fast, easy, looks impressive and tastes great every time.

Portuguese Lemon Chicken

Lemon chicken
(source: my mom | serves 4)

Ingredients:
2.5kg/5 ½ lb Chicken –free range chicken & grain fed (if possible)
One medium sized Lemon (Lemon size will depend on cavity of chicken)
6 Chicken cubes – Knorr preferably
5 Tbsp. unsalted butter softened
Course sea salt
White pepper
1 Tbsp. Mild olive oil

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 180C/300F
  2. Wash and drain chicken
  3. Place olive oil in bottom or a roasting dish
  4. Massage lemon on hard counter, roll back and forth with palm until inside feels soft. Tip: When buying lemon for this recipe try choosing one with a softer thinner skin.
  5. Combine butter, chicken cubes, and pinch of white pepper together in a small dish. You can mush this together with your fingers. When roughly combined rub ¼ of mixture around entire surface of lemon. Then pierce lemon in a few places with fork or toothpick, place lemon inside chicken cavity immediately so not to loose juice and close, if chicken has not been prepared to close simply join skin and hold with a wooden toothpick to close.
  6. Make small cuts on skin, at breast and thighs, just enough to fit your fingers then gently lift skin and slip butter seasoning under breast, and inside skin of thighs. Rub remaining butter seasoning all over chicken, not forgetting wings and back.
  7. Sprinkle a small pinch of course sea salt over back and breast of chicken. Chicken cubes can be salty so take care when using extra salt to season.
  8. Place chicken with breast side down and bake for 45min. Then turn over with breast up and bake another 25min., cooking time will depend on exact size of chicken and oven. Chicken is done when juices run clear, a good place to check is the thigh and breast, if juices run clear bird is should be done.
  9. Before serving carefully remove lemon from cavity. It will be very hot and can squirt easily. I usually remove lemon with a fork and hold lemon on top of the chicken briefly. With a sharp knife I pierce the hot lemon a couple of times, then with another fork gently squeeze some juice out of the hot lemon and let it spread over the chicken, then discard lemon. Give the chicken another good basting using the juices from the bottom of the pan and serve.

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Lemon chicken is great served with rice and a light and tender salad.

Enjoy

If you liked this article, you might also like these articles:
  • Carapaus Alimados - Salted Lemon Mackerel
  • Quinta de Simaens – Award Winning Vinho Verde

    • Comments

    8 Responses to “Lemon Chicken – Frango com Limão”

    1. Quinta de Simaens - Portuguese - Vinho Verde on September 28th, 2007 12:37 pm

      [...] With: This is a more “mature” Vinho Verde flavor that will be wonderful with citrus inspired foods, and a nice pairing for Thai or Asian dishes. [...]

    2. Rolando on October 7th, 2007 1:53 am

      Wow, another amazing dish!

    3. Eddie on October 8th, 2007 12:35 pm

      I like well-seasoned chicken, don’t like it to taste “chickenie” (if that’s a word), this recipe comes out great every time. It was the first time I made it for Moses, he devoured it! And sooo easy to make.

    4. Kara on April 26th, 2008 12:33 am

      I made this for dinner tonight and we all loved it. I also love how simple it is to make. I’ve already vowed to make it once a week from now on. It’s so delicious. Thanks for posting this recipe. It’s perfect. :-)

    5. Jim on May 26th, 2008 8:21 pm

      Recipe sounds awesome. Only change I would make to it is to brine the chicken before preparing it (about 1/2 cup table salt to 2 qts water and about an hour brine time) instead of the coarse salt…and using low sodium cubes instead. This will tenderize the chicken, flavor it, and help to retain moisture. I’m trying this one tonight, though. ;)

    6. Terri on July 2nd, 2008 8:00 pm

      I am drooling over these photos and cannot wait to try this recipe out!

    7. Eddie on July 9th, 2008 11:26 am

      Ola Terri,

      Glad you found us and let me know how it goes!

      E.

    8. Helena Davis on August 9th, 2008 6:37 pm

      Sounds like a delicious recipe, will try it this weekend.
      Now has anybody got a recipe for chicken piri piri which seems to be popular here?
      I can’t eat it in a restaurant as it might not be free-range, and that is a no no for me.
      Thanks,helena

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