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+ servings
braised chicken thighs
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5 from 1 vote

How to Season Chicken

ONLY SERVE the most flavorful, moist, perfectly seasoned chicken EVER again! It’s easy, you just need to know how to season chicken perfectly!
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Course: main
Cuisine: American
Keyword: chicken seasoning, how to season chicken
Servings: 2 servings
Calories: 299kcal
Cost: $3

Equipment

  • bowl
  • whisk
  • Platter
  • Stove or Grill

Ingredients

  • 1 lb Chicken any cut, bone in or out, skin on or off.
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • ½ tsp brown sugar
  • Pinch cayenne pepper
  • ½ tsp lemon juice
  • 1 Tbs butter amount varies based on the amount of chicken you used for this recipe

Instructions

  • Dry the pieces of chicken well with a paper towel and then lay the chicken out onto a platter covered with aluminum foil, apply the kosher salt liberally to all sides of the chicken. Set it aside for at least 30 minutes.
  • Mix together in a small bowl the garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, brown sugar and cayenne pepper. Set aside.
  • Once the chicken has set for 30 minutes, dry well with paper towels. Sprinkle both sides of chicken liberally with the spice mix in the bowl. Sprinkle lemon juice over the top.
  • Cook the chicken by your preferred cooking method (grill, oven bake, roast or pan fry). While cooking, remove the aluminum foil from the platter and discard.
  • When the chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165, remove to the platter. Put a small pat of butter on the surface of the chicken pieces and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Allow the chicken to rest on the platter for 2-3 minutes before serving.

Video

Notes

  • Mix the spices together well and use a whisk to mix them up. This removes lumps and combines the spices evenly for easy spreading.
  • If you plan to grill or roast your chicken, mix up the spices, apply a light coat of vegetable oil (olive oil won’t work for this application) and then apply the seasoning.
  • You can wash your pieces of chicken if you prefer, however, make sure they are very dry before you try to apply the spices. It may seem like the wetness will help the spices to stick, but the extra water will lead to steam during cooking and that will wash the spices right off.
  • Prior to cooking your chicken, you’ll want to dry the chicken well, apply a good sprinkle of KOSHER salt (not any other kind of salt). This adds flavor and pulls some of the surface water out of the chicken giving it great flavor! Dry the chicken again before you put the seasoning on.
  • If you have some of those GIANT 1+lb chicken breasts, consider cutting them in half (like opening a book). They are so thick that they are difficult to cook properly without getting the edges super dry and the center not quite done.
  • Are you cooking up some chicken pieces or cubes? You’ll want to preheat the pan to a medium temp. Put oil in the pan and then add your chicken pieces all at once (after they are all cut) so that they cook the same amount of time. If you add the pieces while you cut them, some will cook for a very long time and some will hardly cook at all! That’s a problem.
  • If you are cooking small pieces or cubes of chicken, coat the chicken well with the seasoning mix before putting it in the pan to cook.
  • Chicken should cook to an internal temperature of 165 and it’s important to have a good thermometer. I recommend the best one on the market (in my opinion) on my resources page if you want to have a look.

Nutrition

Calories: 299kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 97mg | Sodium: 1873mg | Potassium: 224mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 330IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 12mg | Iron: 1mg