Green Chicken

Full disclosure, this is Nom Nom Paleo’s recipe, slightly adapted. But honestly, I’ve made this recipe approximately 256,831 times. It’s simple, delicious, and it can be doubled very easily. A couple of years ago Ryann invited 6 guys (fellow streamers) to stay over at our home for a charity event. (I felt like Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs, except that I’m the dwarf.) This chicken, paired with some veggies and rice easily fed the crowd of hungry guys. They even got seconds. Anyway, below is the recipe for a double batch because that’s how I always make them. You’ll see what I mean.

Ingredients:

• 1 large onion, peeled and roughly chopped (about 2 cups)
• 2 cups packed cilantro leaves and stems
• 2.5 cups packed basil leaves
• 0.5 cups packed mint leaves
• 0.5 cup fish sauce (yes, I know it smells like death but trust me on this)
• 9 garlic cloves, peeled
• zest from 2 limes
• 1 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• salt and pepper
• 6 lbs. bone-in chicken drumsticks or thighs (you can also use boneless chicken thighs or breast, about 4 lbs.)

Directions:

• Put all ingredients except chicken into a blender. Blend until smooth. You may need to stop the blender and stir around with a spoon or spatula to make sure all the herbs get blended well. Taste for seasoning and add salt to taste. This will act as a marinade so you do want to be more generous with the salt to make sure the chicken gets properly seasoned.

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• If you are using bone-in chicken thighs or drumsticks, it’s a good idea to score the meat once or twice. This will help the marinade to soak in better. True confession: I always forget to do this but the chicken still comes out excellent so no worries.
• Divide the chicken into two gallon-size freezer bags, 3 lbs. in each bag. Then, divide the marinade in half and pour over the chicken. Seal the bags, being careful to push out as much air as possible. Rub the chicken through the bag to make sure the marinade is well distributed. Let the chicken marinate for at least one hour or preferably overnight.
• At this point, I usually put one of the bags in the freezer for future use. They will be fine in there for up to 3 months as long as there’s no freezer burn. When you do want to use them, defrost overnight in the fridge. This will be the marinating time as well.

• When you are ready to cook the chicken, preheat oven to 400°F and prepare a sheet pan with a wire rack over it. The rack is preferred because it will help drain out extra fat but if you don’t have it, it’s not the end of the world.
• For bone-in chicken thighs or drumsticks: Lay the chicken skin side down on the rack and roast for 20 minutes. Take out of the oven, flip the chicken over to skin side up, and then roast for another 20 minutes. Check the temperature with a meat thermometer, ensuring that you get at least 165°F in the thickest part of the meat without hitting the bone. Once you have that, turn the oven to broil and broil for 2-4 minutes. Watch carefully so that you don’t burn them. You want nice golden brown, crispy skin.

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• I’ve made these with boneless chicken thighs, but never with breasts. I do think the marinade lends itself really well for chicken breasts as well, but you may want to keep a close eye to make sure they don’t dry out in the oven. For boneless chicken thighs or breasts: Lay the chicken on the rack and roast for 10 minutes. Take out of the oven, flip the chicken over and then roast for another 10 minutes. Check the temperature, ensuring that the meat reaches 165°F. You can broil the boneless chicken thighs for a little extra golden-brownness but I do not recommend it for breasts as it may dry it out.

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