Chimichurri Style Baked Chicken

 

So the first thing you’re thinking to yourself when you look at these pictures is, “that doesn’t look like a chimichurri sauce to me.” And you’d probably be right, labeling things in the food blog world is a savage beast. So that’s the best name that I could think of for this dish that needs to be in your life. Now a traditional chimichurri sauce is comprised of oregano, parsley, red wine vinegar, garlic, and an assortment of spices. It’s said to have originated in Argentina and it is now a staple of South American cuisine, most folks like to rub it on their meats (yeesh say that out loud).

Anyways, my version of this sauce is similar, it’s more onions and parsley than oregano, but you can certainly use oregano if you wish. The end result of this dish is heavenly, the genesis of this dish for me was having way too many greens in my fridge and way too many drumsticks. I’ll fill you in on a little Unmanly Chef diet tidbit, I love parsley so much so that I will just take a gigantic bunch of it and eat it raw with my lunch every day at work. My wife, Mrs. Unmanly Chef, will often look on in horror as I just down an entire bowl of fresh parsley. But sometimes, even my stomach says no more and I need to find other uses of all my excess parsley.

Luckily parsley makes for a great marinade, all I did for this marinade was take parsley, garlic, olive oil, and some other ingredients and blended it rather than run it through a food processor. By blending this sauce, you get this amazingly green smooth marinade that really coats the meat well. I let the marinade soak on the meat for only a couple of hours and the end result was heavenly.

So the next question you’re going to ask me is, “chimichurri is green you lying scum bag! Why isn’t this green?!” Well you’ll probably ask me with less hostility, but you’ll ask the question nonetheless. During the baking process, the green color ultimately goes away, how? I blast the chicken by broiling it so the green color turns into a delicious golden brown color instead.

This dish is so easy to make and it’s so satisfying. The sauce has wonderful components of parsley that add a good savory flavor to the sauce, while the lemon juice and garlic add a great citrus and garlicky flavor to the chicken. It’s a different spin on baked chicken that needs to be in your life. Plus it’s healthy! Ya know, for the kids! (name that movie!)

 

 

Ingredients

Various Chicken Legs & Thighs

1/2 Cup of Chopped Cilantro

1/2 Cup of Chopped Flat Leaf Parsley

1/4 Cup Olive Oil

1/8 Cup Lemon Juice

1 Tbsp. Salt

2 tsp. black pepper

4 Cloves of Garlic

1 Tbsp. Garlic Powder

1 Tbsp. Onion Powder

2 Tsp. Coriander

2 Tsp. Cumin

Method

Step 1: Mix all the ingredients other than the chicken into a blender and puree until you have a smooth green liquid. (Taste your sauce, if you think it needs more salt or lemon juice add it to your preference. )

Step 2: (If you have time marinate your chicken in some of the sauce) Lay the chicken parts in a roasting pan and pour the green sauce over the chicken.

Step 3: Cover with aluminum foil. Bake in the oven at 325F for 30 to 45 minutes. (The lower the heat the better, you’ll just have to cook it longer)

Step 4: Remove aluminum foil, broil both sides of chicken on high so it crisps up and the sauce reduces down.

Step 5: Remove from the oven and allow to cool, then eat!