Wedding Chicken
“When I was getting married, I couldn’t think of a caterer I wanted to use,” says chef Naomi Pomeroy, Expatriate, Portland, OR, “and I didn’t want to ask my staff.” Her solution? Cook for her guests herself. She went with super-simple chicken, powered by a throw-together marinade.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 10 garlic cloves coarsely chopped
- 4 serrano chiles with seeds, thinly sliced
- 1 3½” piece ginger peeled, finely grated
- 1 cup olive oil
- ½ cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce such as nam pla or nuoc nam
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 2 lemons sliced, plus wedges for serving
- 6 sprigs thyme
- 8 skin-on bone-in chicken thighs about 3½ pounds
Instructions
Marinate the chicken:
- Whisk garlic, chiles, ginger, oil, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, fish sauce, and salt in a medium bowl until sugar and salt dissolve.
- Add lemon slices and thyme.
- Place marinade and chicken in a large resealable plastic bag.
- Turn to coat, and chill at least 12 hours.
Roast and serve:
- Heat oven to 450°.
- Remove chicken from marinade, shaking off excess, and place, skin side up, on a rimmed baking sheet.
- Roast until cooked through and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh registers 165°, 25–30 minutes.
- Serve chicken with lemon wedges for squeezing over.
Notes
Chicken can be marinated 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.