Southern Oven-Fried Lemony Pepper Chicken

Southern Oven-Fried Lemony Pepper Chicken is the best of both worlds, juicy boneless chicken thighs marinated in freshly squeezed lemon juice and buttermilk, seasoned to perfection with a delicious homemade lemon pepper seasoning,  coated with one of the best Southern chicken batters, then smothered in a Lemon and Cream-based Gravy made from the perfect roux.

Have you ever really had a severe craving for something? Now let’s get a bit more intense. Have you ever craved two different things at once? The day I came up with my recipe for my Southern Pepper Chicken, I was craving Fried Boneless Chicken thighs with gravy and Lemon and Pepper Chicken. I almost drove my entire house crazy, trying to decide which I wanted more. My husband annoyed me, “Just make both of them already; I’m tired of hearing this!”

I don’t know about all of you. Still, I don’t want to make two different recipes in one night because I can’t decide which craving is worse, so there has to be a happy medium for this dual craving of mine. It hit me I could satisfy both cravings with a few adaptions to my recipe for Oven-fried Chicken with white gravy.

The idea behind the Southern Oven-Fried Lemony Pepper Chicken recipe was pretty simple, marinate the chicken in freshly squeezed lemons that are  in season here in Florida and buttermilk for about 8 hours, drain the marinade, then season the boneless chicken thighs with homemade Lemon Pepper seasoning, batter  the boneless chicken thighs with my favorite Southern Fried Chicken batter and oven-fried to perfection the idea behind the gravy was

The White Lemony Gravy was seemingly easy to figure out as well. I wanted that yummy white gravy we all enjoy so well with our fried chicken, but I thought we needed a lemon flavor to enhance the gravy; freshly squeezed lemon juice would be my saving grace for a second time today.

I have to ask you, have you ever been nervous about making something that seems so simple yet, you know, has the potential to go downhill fast? I thought this  recipe for Southern Oven-Fried Lemon Pepper Chicken has to turn out right for three reasons:

1. I will never hear the end of it if my recipe for Southern Fried Lemon Pepper Chicken doesn’t turn out right. I am sure you know that feeling of defeat at the dinner table with sour lemon faces looking at you as they’re forcing down dinner.
2. I  seriously have to say. I dislike having to force down foods that taste awful myself, don’t you?
3. Wasting food is a BIG no-go in my house, as I am sure it is in yours as well; can you imagine if there are leftovers? Sweet baby Jesus, have you ever eaten something you hate for the second time as a leftover?

I bet you had your fingers and toes crossed in anticipation of reading this the entire time; worrying, didn’t you? The excellent news, Y’all, is this didn’t just turn out well. It was a Super-Star Fabulous recipe that I decided was just too darn good to keep under my hat for another second. So without further wait, you can find this delicious recipe for Southern oven-Fried Lemon Pepper Chicken below.

Southern Oven-Fried Lemony Pepper Chicken

Heidy McCallum

Southern Oven-Fried Lemony Pepper Chicken is the best of both worlds, juicy boneless chicken thighs marinated in freshly squeezed lemon juice, buttermilk, seasoned to perfection with a delicious lemon pepper seasoning

5 from 4 votes

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 7 people

Calories 669 kcal

Ingredients

  

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Southern Oven-Fried Lemony Pepper Chicken

• 10-12 chicken thighs boneless and skinless
• 3 cups buttermilk
• 3 lemons juice of
• 1 cup all-purpose flour for dredging
• 3 large eggs lightly beaten
• 3 cups all-purpose flour for the batter
• 1 teaspoon Lemon Pepper seasoning + 1 tablespoon of the batter
• Kosher salt to own taste
• ground black pepper to own taste
• cooking spray
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter optional-melted- to brush chicken
• 2 lemons sliced
• fresh herbs for garnish

White Lemony Gravy

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1¾ cups whole milk
• ¼ cup half and half cream
• 1 lemon juice of
• kosher salt to own taste
• fresh ground black pepper to own taste

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
• Wash the packaged chicken thighs in cold water to remove any nasty impurities and then pat dry the chicken thighs with a paper towel.
• In a large plastic container with tight-fitting lid or glass baking dish big enough to fit 10-12 boneless and skinless chicken thighs, add 3 cups of buttermilk and the juice of 3 lemons; stir around a bit to mix the buttermilk and lemon juice.
• Place all the boneless skinless chicken thighs in the mixture turn a few times before placing in the refrigerator and marinating for 8 hours or overnight if desired. I usually turn mine about 3-4 times in the marinade.
• Once the chicken thighs have marinated 8 hours drain off the marinade and promptly dispose of the marinade down the drain.
• Place marinated chicken thighs on a platter and season well with the lemon pepper seasoning on both sides about 1 teaspoon total.
• In a shallow bowl place 1 cup of all-purpose flour in it to dredge the chicken thighs
• Crack 3 large fresh eggs in a medium glass bowl and lightly beat them
• In another bowl add 3 cups of all-purpose flour,1 tablespoon of lemon pepper seasoning, kosher salt, and freshly ground pepper to own taste; stir to mix seasoning and flour.
• Dredge the chicken thighs in flour to coat both sides.
• Using a utensil, dip chicken in egg thoroughly coating, let excess drip off.
• Place the chicken thighs one at a time in flour and seasoning mixture, turning to coat each side.
• Insert a wire baker’s rack into a metal baking sheet, place the breaded chicken thighs on the metal baking rack, lightly brush with melted butter; careful not to remove the chicken batter.
• Place in a 350 F preheated the oven and bake for about 50-55 minutes, turning chicken at 30 minutes baking time.
• Remove from oven let cool till the gravy is done.
• In a large metal skillet, on medium heat, melt 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter, then add 4 tablespoons of all-purpose flour and stir constantly for about 2 minutes to cook off raw flour taste, very slowly add 1 and ¾ cup of whole milk, ¼ of a cup half and half cream, juice of 1 lemon, and kosher salt, and freshly ground pepper. Reduce the heat slightly and continue to stir till the gravy completely tightens up and becomes a thick creamy consistency. If needed add a bit more milk to thin.
• Plate the Lemony Oven-fried chicken thighs in a large clean serving dish. spoon a small amount of the lemony gravy over the chicken and garnish with a lemon slice and fresh herbs if desired. Place extra gravy in a gravy boat to serve with the chicken.

Notes

Although themccallumsshamrockpatch.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and how ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Under no circumstances will themccallumsshamrockpatch.com be responsible for any loss or damage resulting from your reliance on nutritional information.

Nutrition

Serving: 01Calories: 669kcalCarbohydrates: 66gProtein: 45gFat: 24gSaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 265mgSodium: 282mgPotassium: 691mgFiber: 3gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 669IUVitamin C: 16mgCalcium: 168mgIron: 5mg

Keyword Fried Chicken, Lemon

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If you enjoyed the Southern Oven-Fried Lemony Pepper Chicken recipe, you love these suggestions!

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