Best Roast Chicken With Preserved Lemons Marinade Recipes

ROAST CHICKEN WITH PRESERVED LEMON

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 400°F. Put the butter, thyme, garlic, preserved lemon, lemon zest, half a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper in a food processor. Blitz, then set aside while you tackle the bird.
• With the chicken's legs pointing towards you, use your hands to loosen the skin from the breasts. Spread most of the butter mixture evenly over the breasts, under the skin, then smear the remaining butter over the legs. Put the chicken in a medium-sized, high-sided baking tray, drizzle with the lemon juice and sprinkle with a teaspoon of salt and plenty of pepper.
• Roast for about 70 minutes, basting every 15 minutes or so, until the skin is golden-brown and crisp, and the juices run clear (stick the tip of a sharp knife into the thickest part of the thigh to check; if the juices are still a little pink, just give the bird five to 10 minutes more cooking).
• Remove from the oven, leave to rest for 10 minutes, then carve and serve.
• TO MAKE PRESERVED LEMON: (the same for limes)
• Get a jar large enough to accomodate all the lemons snuggly. To sterilize it, fill it with boiling water, leave for a minutes, and then empty it. Allow it to dry out naturally without wiping it so it remains sterilized.
• Wash the lemons and cut a deep cross all the way from the top to with 3/4 inch / 2 cm before the base. Stuff each lemon with 1 tablespoon of the salt and place it in the jar. Push the lemons in tightly so they are squeezed together snuggly. Seal the jar and leave it in a cool spot for at least a week.
• After the initial period, remove the lid and press the lemons as hard as you can to squeeze out most of the juice. Add the rosemary, chile and lemon juice and cover with a thin layer of olive oil. Seal the jar and leave in a cool place for at least 4 weeks. The longer you leave them, the better the flavor.

MOROCCAN ROASTED CHICKEN WITH PRESERVED LEMONS

Steps:

• Make a spice rub for the chicken from the ginger, turmeric, garlic, cilantro, olive oil, and lemon juice.
• Gently lift and loosen the skin of the chicken from the breast and leg meat, leaving the skin intact. Spoon most of the spice mixture under the skin, and rub the spices over the meat, taking care to reach the leg.
• Turn the chicken over, and loosen the skin from the back of the chicken. Add the remaining spice rub to the back meat, reaching to the legs if possible.
• Salt and pepper the cavity of the chicken, truss the legs and rub a little olive oil on the outside of the chicken. Transfer the chicken to a glass or plastic bowl, cover tightly, and refrigerate overnight.
• Set aside the saffron. Slice the onions as thinly as possible. Place the onions, garlic, remaining spices, cilantro, oil and smen in a heavy-bottomed shallow stock pot or Dutch oven . Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally for an hour or until the onions are soft and can easily be mashed with a spoon or vegetable masher. Avoid burning the onions, and add a little oil or water if necessary to prevent the onions from sticking.
• Mash the onions and continue cooking, uncovered, until the onions are reduced to a thick blended mass sitting in the oil. How long this takes will depend on how moist the onions were, how thinly you sliced them, and how wide your pot is.
• When the onions are a unified mass, stir in the saffron and remove the onions from the heat. At this point, the sauce can be cooled and refrigerated overnight.
• Transfer the chicken to an oiled shallow roasting pan, allow the chicken to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven 325 F/160 C.
• Roast the chicken uncovered, basting occasionally and rotating the pan halfway through cooking, for 2 to 3 hours, or until the skin is golden brown and the leg can be moved easily in its joint.
• Transfer the cooked chicken to a serving plate, or hold warm in the turned off oven.
• Pour the juices from the roasting pan into the onion sauce mixture, stirring to blend. Add the preserved lemon and olives, 2 or 3 tablespoons of water as needed and simmer the sauce over medium heat for about 10 minutes, or until well-blended and the sauce is thick.
• Pour the sauce onto the serving platter, spooning a little sauce and olives over the chicken. Garnish the chicken with some of the preserved lemons, and serve immediately with Moroccan bread ( khobz ) for scooping up the chicken and sauce.

ROASTED CHICKEN WITH PRESERVED LEMONS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cut the preserved lemons into quarters and remove the rinds from the flesh, reserving both. Create a pocket between the skin and meat of each chicken breast. Slide pieces of the lemon rind, pith side down, into each pocket, two pieces per breast. Then rub the chickens with the remaining lemon flesh. Sprinkle the ground cumin over the birds and season with the salt and pepper.
• Set chickens on a roasting rack in a large roasting pan and cook for 20 minutes. Remove the chickens and spread butter over the breasts, then drizzle with the honey. Lower oven temperature to 400 degrees. Roast for 30 to 50 minutes, or until the skin is a burnished brown.
• Remove from oven, and allow to rest for 15 or 20 minutes.
• Reduce juice from pan over medium heat. Pour over carved chicken.

PRESERVED LEMON ROAST CHICKEN WITH FREEKEH SALAD

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. In a bowl or food processor, combine the butter, preserved lemon and garlic to make a flavoured butter.
• Pat the chicken with kitchen paper, then fill the cavity with the bay, thyme, tarragon and flavoured butter, saving a little to spread over the thighs and breast. Season and roast in the oven for about 1 hr, basting every 20 mins or so with the preserved lemon butter and juices. It is cooked when the leg is wobbly when pulled from the body, and the juices run clear. Remove from the oven and leave to rest while you make the salad.
• Heat the olive oil in a high-sided frying pan or saucepan. Toast the freekeh for a few mins with the bay leaf. Cover with water, bring to the boil and skim off any scum. Simmer for 25-30 mins until cooked but still with a little bite. Rinse the freekeh under cold water, then drain and mix it with the herbs, broad beans, spring onions and radishes. Season and dress with olive oil, lemon juice and the juices from the bird poured over.

CHICKEN TAGINE WITH OLIVES AND PRESERVED LEMONS

Steps:

• Mix garlic, saffron, ginger, paprika, cumin and turmeric together. If not using kosher chicken, add 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add pepper to taste. Rub chicken with mixture, cover, refrigerate and marinate 3 to 4 hours.
• Heat oil in heavy skillet. Add chicken, and brown on all sides. Remove to platter. Add onions to skillet, and cook over medium-low heat about 15 minutes, until lightly browned. Transfer to tagine, if you are using one, or leave in skillet. Add cinnamon stick.
• Put chicken on onions. Scatter with olives. Quarter the lemons, remove pulp and cut skin in strips. Scatter over chicken. Mix stock and lemon juice. Pour over chicken.
• Cover tagine or skillet. Place over low heat, and cook about 30 minutes, until chicken is done. Scatter parsley on top, and serve.