Meyer Lemon Blood Orange Glazed Roast Chicken is so easy to make, you’ll want to include this in your weeknight cooking repertoire. Any citrus fruit can be used in this no-fuss meal.
A few weeks ago, the twins went off to a winter retreat with our church. I really missed them and our house was eerily quiet, giving me a glimpse into what next fall will be like when they both leave for college.
When they bounced through the door Sunday just before dinnertime, all was abuzz again. Not only was I thrilled they were back safe and sound, but they were too. They had a great time, but apparently, there was not much to eat (at least not enough to feed two hungry teenage boys!).
It was good for my kids to spend a few days away from my kitchen – they gained a whole new appreciation for the food that I lovingly prepare for them each and every day, and they are already contemplating what life will be like next year when they are left to their own devices eating college cafeteria food.
I am equally mindful of the fact that the days are counting down before my beautiful twin boys will no longer be home for dinner each and every night. So, I pour my heart and soul into every meal that I make for them. I want them to remember Mom’s good cooking and yearn to come home to taste it again.
This Meyer Lemon Blood Orange Glazed Roast Chicken that I made was one of those special dinners that I threw together last minute. I had spotted it on Pinterest and made a mental note of it as I had Meyer lemons and blood oranges in my refrigerator.
You can actually eat the rinds of Meyer lemons, so the idea of caramelizing them and roasting them was especially appealing. The lemons and oranges combine with the cherry mustard and maple syrup to create a beautiful sauce and glaze for the roast chicken. My boys had picked up some Michigan cherry mustard on their road trip in the fall to Ann Arbor, and I’ve been staring at this little jar for a while. No better time to break it out than the present.
This recipe comes together easily and is pretty no-fuss other than basting the chicken to get a nice glaze on it. And don’t worry if you can’t find Meyer lemons or blood oranges. You can make it with regular lemons, clementines or tangerines. The one pictured below is made with mandarinquats that Frieda’s sent me, a citrus fruit that’s a hybrid of mandarin oranges and kumquats.
Meyer Lemon Blood Orange Mustard Glazed Roast Chicken
Ingredients
- 3 pounds chicken parts I used drumsticks
- 3 Meyer lemons
- 1 blood orange
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup Limoncello lemon liqueur
- 2 tablespoons cherry mustard or stone ground Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- salt and fresh ground pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Place chicken in a large bowl. Squeeze enough juice from two Meyer lemons to yield 1/4 cup. Slice remaining Meyer lemon and blood orange into 1/4 inch slices and set aside. Pour lemon juice, olive oil, Limoncello, cherry mustard and maple syrup on top of chicken. Season with rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper. Toss gently to coat chicken well.
- Place chicken in single layer on parchment paper lined baking sheet. Place sliced lemons and oranges on and around chicken pieces. Bake for 20 minutes; remove from oven and turn chicken over, basting with sauce. Return to oven and bake another 10 minutes. Remove from oven and baste with sauce. Turn oven up to 475 degrees and return chicken to oven; continue baking 5-10 minutes until chicken is nicely browned.
Recipe Notes
Adapted from The View from Great Island
I love the bright pop of color that the Meyers and blood oranges give to this beautiful meal! I’m sure your sons gobbled this up.
Thanks Joanne – the boys really enjoy this dish – the sauce is really good!
Both Meyer lemons and blood oranges are a real treat for those of us here on the East Coast! How lucky your boys were to come home to a dinner that combined both of these special ingredients.
Yes, Lydia – not easy to find here on the East Coast, but a great way to brighten up a meal this long winter!
I have to make this ASAP! They look so good, Jeanette.
Thanks Angie – this is very easy to make and delicious!
I wish I had Limoncello, but don’t. Do you think Cointreau would work? This sounds yummy! I may add some fennel and leeks, too, since I just bought them along with my chicken today.
Dee – I think Cointreau should work fine with oranges. I just happened to have an old bottle of Limoncello in my freezer. Fennel and leeks sound like a great addition! Let me know how it turns out.
This dish sounds so good Jeanette – full of flavor, not very hard to make and beautiful to look at!
That’s so nice that your boys came home to appreciate your great cooking – this dish looks amazing and I’m sure they enjoyed every bite of it:) I love all the flavors in here especially the meyer lemons with rosemary and thyme – it sounds fantatstic with everything Jeanette!
Thanks Kelly! Citrus flavors are a great way to brighten up this winter!
I have 3 meyer lemons ripening on my tree in the living room. Been wondering what will I do with them. Now I know.
Bill – you’re so lucky to have a meyer lemon tree sitting right outside your house! Enjoy!
I’m off from work today and it’s snowing yet again, so I got busy in the kitchen. In one word your recipe was: delectable! Here’s what I did:
*1.6 lb. boneless chicken breasts
*thinly sliced 1 fennel bulb and 2 leeks, put chicken on top
*full amount of sauce, added spices while mixing sauce ingredients; poured sauce on top, then added salt/pepper
*subbed Cointreau and cara cara orange
Verdict:
1) As I suspected, the chicken was a bit dry. I’d dial back the time a bit or put the chicken on the bottom and the veggies on top.
2) I’d add more mustard and spices. (My rosemary and thyme were a bit old and therefore, not that flavorful)
3) I’d consider adding another fennel bulb and even making more sauce–it’s that yummy! (I didn’t prepare any rice or quinoa, although that’s what I’d do if I were serving this for company–or even polenta.)
4) I couldn’t taste the Cointreau flavor at all–so might consider a fruity white wine.
Thanks for a fabulous recipe. I’ll be making this again and again!
so lovely!
This looks fantastic, Jeanette! My kind of meal.
Very good flavors and the house smelled wonderful as this cooked, but the sauce was too thin to really glaze the chicken or the veggies I served it with. I would omit the liquor and perhaps substitute butter for the olive oil, since butter would coat the chicken better. Either that, or add some cornstarch to the sauce to thicken it as it cools, then spoon over the chicken. The fruit caramelized nicely to a crunch goodness! The blood oranges were the star. I might try this with only them.
Terri – thanks for trying this recipe and sharing how it turned out. Not sure why your sauce came out thin – perhaps my oven is hotter, but I like the way you improvised to make it work for you.
This may be a silly question, but I hardly ever cook with drumsticks. Did you take the skin off or leave it on? Thanks for helping 🙂
I left the skin on to keep the chicken moist. You can remove it after it’s cooked if you like.