Maybe you have heard a lot about lemon pepper chicken and maybe you even had the pleasure of trying it at a nice restaurant. You can make it at home with real success if you follow the information we present here for your consideration.
Types of Chicken to Use
When you decide that you would like to make lemon pepper chicken, then you need to know which kind of chicken to use. The most popular chicken to use in the preparation of this dish is chicken breasts. It is important to note that you must cut the chicken breasts into thin slices and then pound them with a meat mallet in order to make them as thin as possible
. This helps to ensure that the chicken will be able to cook in a manner that is even and quick. Then you can have the peace of mind that no part of the chicken will be left uncooked.
For this type of dish, you can also apply the usage of chicken wings or chicken thighs. But it will be necessary for you to thinly slice the thighs and pound the thigh meat with a meat mallet to make the thigh meat’s cooking process uniform and quick.
Explanation of What Lemon Pepper Seasoning Is and How to Make Your Own
What Lemon Pepper Seasoning Is
If you are new to lemon pepper, you may be wondering what lemon pepper seasoning actually is. The name of the seasoning is certainly interesting and enticing. This type of seasoning is created with the use of the zest of lemons that are combined with cracked pepper. This combination of flavors indeed does provide a taste that will always be delicious and vibrant. Though we will be providing a recipe in regards to how to use this seasoning with chicken, the reality is it pairs well with other types of poultry, such as partridge, duck or turkey. It is also ideal to use with pasta, beef, salad and even seafood.
This seasoning is available in most grocery stores. But the good news is that it is not a hard task to make your own seasoning right in the comfort of your own home. In many cases, your own seasoning will turn out better than what you can buy at the grocery store. Also, it is nice that you can have the opportunity to provide customization for the lemon pepper seasoning if you wish to add extra spices that you like. We highly recommend that you create your own lemon pepper seasoning if possible due to the reality that some brands of lemon pepper seasoning that you get in the stores tend to use real lemon.
They instead are created with the usage of citric acid. But this dish is superb with the usage of lemon pepper seasoning that has natural lemon that is fresh, which is the reason why we like homemade lemon pepper seasoning the best. Therefore, you will need four lemons and one tablespoon of pepper. But you can modify the amounts of lemons and pepper as desired.
It certainly is possible to make this seasoning personalized according to your preferences. You are able to be in control of the thickness of the pepper that you grind. Also, you can even try adding the zest of other types of fruits in the citrus family, such as tangerines, limes oranges. Then you can also take the opportunity to combine other spices with the seasoning, such as onion powder, garlic, salt, basil, sage, rosemary, oregano or some parsley.
How to Make Your Own
- To make your own homemade lemon pepper seasoning, you can use a knife, vegetable peeler or lemon zester in order to zest the lemons. Be careful to avert the white part of the lemon with the zest, as that part of the fruit is quite unpleasant.
- Then you will want to chop or grate the zest of the lemon finely.
- Place the zest into a bowl. You can grind peppercorns to your desired thickness or use pepper that has already been prepared.
- Combine the pepper with the lemon zest. The amount of pepper and zest depends on your preference, but a good ratio is the zest of four lemons to one tablespoon of pepper.
- Then place the seasoning mixture on a baking tray and bake the mixture in your oven at a temperature of 140 degrees Fahrenheit for a duration of one and a half hours to cause the mixture to become dehydrated.
- You will cool the mixture until it reaches room temperature.
- Next, you will need to grind the mixture. It is ideal to use a spice grinder for this step.
- You can also apply the usage of a pizza cutter if you do not have access to a spice grinder.
Once that step is completed, place the mixture into a jar and seal the jar carefully to ensure that your mixture will remain fresh for many months. You can enjoy using this awesome seasoning for chicken, salad, seafood and more.
How to Make Lemon Pepper Chicken