Preserved Lemon Chicken Legs

Sure, you could roast a whole chicken, but I rarely ever want to do that. Especially when I can whip up a few chicken quarters in this zippy, garlicky sauce, roast a vegetable or two, and spend less time in front of an oven. (Everyone—or at least everyone I’m inviting over—prefers dark meat, anyway.) 

This is a tomato-free spin on Andy Baraghani’s chicken puttanesca recipe, and, for the past few years, my go-to poultry dish every time I need to feed two to three people. I should note that there is absolutely nothing wrong with the original, it’s a perfect recipe—I just didn’t have crushed tomatoes one night, so I substituted with preserved lemon. The final result is a punchier, more pungent sauce with a slight funk from the lemon, which I love. But the best thing about this recipe is how easy and reliable it is. Your quarters come out juicy with beautifully browned skin, and it all happens in one pan, so the clean-up takes minutes. One note: These quantities are for two chicken quarters, but feel free to adjust ingredients accordingly if you’re throwing a chicken leg party and want more.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 Chicken Quarters

• Kosher salt

• Black pepper

• 2 tbsp of Neutral Oil (i.e, Canola or Grape Seed)

• 1/2 of a Preserved Lemon

• 4 Anchovy Filets

• Red Chili Flakes

• 3/4 cup white wine

• Water

• Lemon Peel

• Bay Leaf

• Flat-leaf parsely and drizzle of extra virgin olive oil for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.

2. Pat chicken quarters dry with paper towels and season with kosher salt.

3. Heat two tbsps of neutral oil on a cast iron skillet at medium-high heat. Once it’s shimmering, add chicken quarters skin-side down. Cook chicken for 7-10 minutes until skin is golden brown and transfer quarters to plate.

4. The chicken will release a decent amount of fat in the skillet, so spoon out two tablespoons of fat and save them for another day.

5. Reduce heat to medium, add chopped garlic, and anchovies to skillet. Once the garlic has softened and the anchovies have dissolved, add minced preserved lemon. Cook until soft and fragrant. Sprinkle in red chili flakes to your liking and allow to bloom for a minute.

6. Add wine and scrape the burnt bits from the pan with a wooden spoon. Once most of the wine has evaporated (five minutes or so), return the chicken quarters to the pan skin side up. Add one cup of water, bay leaf, and lemon peel. Bring entire pan to a simmer.

7. Once it reaches a simmer, transfer your pan to the oven and cook uncovered for 30-35 minutes (closer to 40 minutes for bigger legs, closer to 27 for smaller legs.) Feel free to baste your legs every 10 minutes or so as the sauce continues to thicken. Taste your sauce, as well. It should be quite salty from the anchovies.

8. Transfer your chicken quarters to a platter, garnish with chopped flat-leaf parsley, a few cracks of black pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil.