Baked Chicken Recipes

When I lived in California and had a huge supply of lemons, a favorite whole chicken recipe to make was Roasted Chicken with Preserved Lemons. I had completely forgotten about that recipe until it appeared in the LA Times online a few months ago.  This is not a recipe that you can make tomorrow, because it takes weeks to make the preserved lemons.  If you are lucky enough to live where you can get Meyer lemons, I prefer the more mild flavor of these, as the preserved lemon flavor is very intense – but not bitter.

To make the preserved lemons, just cut off a little bit of the top of each lemon.  Now you are going to “pretend” to cut the lemon in half from the top to the bottom, but you are going to stop cutting before you read the bottom.  Now make one more cut so that you now have lemon quarters – but they are still attached to the base.

Without breaking the lemon, pry the sections over an sprinkle a generous amount of salt all over the inside and outside of each lemon.  Now you are going to push these into a tight jar and squish them to release their juices as much as you can.  Pack as many lemons as will fit in the jar.  If there is not enough juice to cover the top lemon, add a little more fresh lemon juice.  Sprinkle with a few more tablespoons of lemon juice and seal the jar.  Leave it on the counter, and twice a day just turn the jar over.  After two days, put the jar in the frig for at least three weeks, turning it over whenever you think to do it.

When you are ready to use these in your whole chicken recipe, just be sure to discard the pits and rinse the lemon thoroughly under water to get all of that salt out.  Some people use the flesh of the preserved lemon, but I prefer to just use the rind.  Just take out what you will use and return the rest to the frig.  They should stay just fine for about six months.

If you would like to see the LA Times recipe for Roast Chicken with Preserved Lemons, just click here.
This is almost identical to my own recipe, but I always add green olives towards the end of the cooking time.  I’m sure you know that it goes without saying that you don’t want to add any salt to this recipe! If you would like to watch pretty Sophia make preserved lemons, click here!

Enjoy this whole chicken recipe that is a gift from the Middle East.

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