Oven-baked chicken legs with roasted garlic butter
- Preparation 20 min
- Cooking 1 h 30 min
- Servings 6
- Freezing Absolutely
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Roasted garlic
- 2 whole heads of garlic
- 1 ½ tbsp (22 ml) olive oil
Butter
- ¾ cup (180 ml) unsalted butter, softened
- 3 tbsp (45 ml) fresh thyme, leaves picked
- Zest of 1 large lemon
- ¾ tsp (4 ml) fleur de sel
Chicken
- 8 whole chicken legs, skin-on and bone-in
- 3 tbsp (45 ml) olive oil
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) herbes de Provence
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
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Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 400 °F (200 °C). Slice the top off each head of garlic to expose the cloves, drizzle with olive oil, wrap tightly in foil, and roast for 45 minutes, until the cloves are golden and soft. Let cool slightly, then squeeze the heads to push out the pulp.
- Mash the garlic pulp with a fork along with the softened butter, thyme, lemon zest, and fleur de sel until you get a smooth, even compound butter. Set half the butter aside in the refrigerator for serving.
- Raise the oven to 425 °F (220 °C). Pat the chicken legs dry with paper towel. The skin needs to be perfectly dry. Rub them with olive oil on all sides, season generously with salt and pepper, then sprinkle the herbes de Provence over the top.
- Spread the legs across two pans, skin side up, leaving good space between them. Insert a thermometer into the thickest part of the leg without touching the bone. Roast for 30 minutes uncovered, without touching them.
- Melt the remaining roasted garlic butter and brush it generously over the legs. Return to the oven for about 15 minutes, until the skin is golden and lacquered and the internal temperature reaches 165 °F (74 °C).
- If the skin isn’t as golden as you’d like, slide the pans under the broiler for 1 to 2 minutes, keeping them in the center of the oven. Don’t walk away: it goes very fast and can smoke.
- Place a knob of the reserved cold butter on each leg and serve immediately, with a few fresh thyme leaves scattered on top if you have some on hand.