This Spicy Lemon Garlic Chicken is my favorite thing to get at Chicken Maison in OC! It’s so flavorful, juicy, tender, and unlike anything I have ever tried before. You should make this, immediately!

I’ve been trying to crack this recipe for SO long, and I think I got this pretty close. If you try it please let me know in the comments what you think!

Ingredients:

• Whole chicken- Chicken Maison makes rotisserie chickens, so I’m making this recipe with a whole chicken for a couple of reasons. I think roasting a whole chicken in the oven is the closest way to replicate juicy, tender rotisserie chicken, and we will also need the pan juices for the spicy lemon garlic sauce. 
  • To save time, you can use a store bought rotisserie chicken and just make the spicy lemon garlic sauce, but it will not be as good.
• Seasoning- a mix of salt, black pepper, chicken bouillon, cayenne pepper, thyme, onion powder, garlic powder, and paprika. This will be used to season the chicken, stuffing, and the fat, which I will talk about later.
• Stuffing- this really isn’t for eating but for stuffing the cavity with some aromatics to flavor the chicken throughout. Sauté some onions, serrano peppers, garlic, and some of the seasoning mix in butter until nicely browned, then deglaze with apple cider vinegar.
• Spicy lemon garlic sauce- pan drippings from roasting the chicken, chopped cilantro, chopped green onion, minced garlic, and Lee Kum Lee chili garlic sauce.

The Shortcut Recipe

If you don’t want to make the chicken, you can definitely use a rotisserie chicken instead! This will cut out a significant amount of time. It won’t be as good, but close enough with minimal effort. 

You would just need to make the spicy lemon garlic sauce with olive oil + chicken stock instead of the pan drippings. Including chopping time, this should only take you between 5-10 minutes if not less! 

Skip to step 14 below if you are making this shortcut version instead!

How to make Spicy Lemon Garlic Chicken from scratch:

Below are step-by-step instructions with photos. For the full recipe including ingredients & measurements, please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this page. 

Step 1: 

Before you start anything, make sure you take your chicken out of the fridge to come to room temperature for about an hour. Roughly chop the onion, garlic, and serrano peppers for the stuffing.

Step 2:

Over medium heat, melt 1 tbsp of butter in a pan and saute the onions until they begin to brown.

Step 3: 

Add 1 more tbsp of butter, then add the garlic, serrano peppers, and 1 tsp of the seasoning mix. Saute for a couple minutes.

Step 4:

Deglaze with 2 tsp of apple cider vinegar, scraping any brown bits on the bottom. Remove from heat and let the stuffing cool completely.

Step 5:

Once cool, add the stuffing to the cavity of the bird along with 2 lemon wedges

Step 6:

Remove the piece of fat near the cavity and season it with about 1 tsp of the seasoning mix. If you don’t have any fat on your bird, you can use 2-3 tbsp of softened butter instead (mix it with 1 tsp of seasoning mix)

Step 7:

Put the seasoned fat pieces under the skin. It will completely dissolve and spread over the chicken, cooking it in it’s own fat.

Step 8: 

Drizzle 1-2 tbsp of olive oil all over the chicken, then sprinkle the rest of the seasoning mix all over.

Step 9:

Tie the legs together using butchers twine or aluminum foil. Put the chicken into your roasting pan and a little bit of white wine, water, or chicken stock. Don’t put too much in the beginning (about 1/8 inch high in the pan) we need it to evaporate so that the bottom gets brown and glossy which adds so much flavor!

Step 10:

Roast in the oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for about and hour and a half for a 4.5 lb chicken. Add more water to the pan about halfway through (about 1/2 cup)

Step 11:

Take the chicken out of the over when the breast registers about 160 degrees Fahrenheit with a meat thermometer. Let it rest in the roasting pan, uncovered for 10 minutes to collect the juices.

Step 12:

Scrape the pan drippings

Step 13:

Then strain it into a cold pan. There should be at least 1/2 cup of pan drippings.

Step 14:

To the pan drippings add the chopped green onion, cilantro, garlic, chili garlic sauce, and fresh lemon juice.

*If you’re using a rotisserie chicken and only making the spicy lemon garlic sauce to pour over it, use 1/4 cup of olive oil + 1/2 cup of hot water mixed with 1 tsp of chicken bouillon (or 1/2 cup of chicken stock), instead of the pan drippings.

Step 15:

Mix together and cook over medium low heat for a couple of minutes until it thickens and comes together. Turn off the heat and keep it covered.

Step 16:

Break down the chicken (don’t throw away the carcass and stuffing- these will make a super flavorful chicken broth!)

Step 17: 

Pour the spicy lemon garlic sauce all over the chicken and enjoy!

How I eat spicy lemon garlic chicken

Enjoy this chicken however you’d like- it goes well with rice, veggies, hummus, etc.

Chicken Maison serves this on a plate with 2 sides of your choice, pita bread, and toum (Lebanese garlic spread). For my sides, I usually get 2x sweet & spicy slaw, so that I can make pita sandwiches. 

I used this recipe to make the toum, but it still comes out too sharp every time I have made it. I fixed this by mixing in some mayo to cut the sharpness, which seems to do the job but I will be trying to come up with my own recipe soon!

For the sweet and spicy slaw, you can use a pre-cut bag of slaw, or just thinly cut up some green cabbage, red cabbage, and carrots. Wash thoroughly then remove all the water before mixing in the sweet & spicy dressing:

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp sugar

1/4 tsp sesame oil

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

pinch of salt

I get my pita bread from Sprouts, but I’ve also seen very similar ones at Trader Joes. 

Just heat in the microwave for 10 seconds, then I spread the toum inside the pocket and stuff it with the spicy lemon garlic chicken (shredded), and the sweet and spicy slaw. 

This is SUCH a flavor bomb! A bit of work to shred the chicken and stuff the pita pockets, but its definitely worth it.