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South Korea Part Two: Going for Gold.
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One Skillet Lemon Butter Chicken and Orzo, just what tonight needs.
You guys, I am not going to lie, at this point I really don’t even know what day it is. This entire time I’ve been in South Korea, I think I have asked what day it is and what the time is over and over again. South Korea is one day and sixteen hours ahead of MST, so the jet leg struggle was, and is, real. Because of work, I needed to be going back and forth between US time and Korean time and for me, it just got way too confusing.
By the time you all read this I should hopefully be home, as I am heading out in a couple of hours with a few family members along with me. I am currently writing this post while sitting in a hotel room in Seoul, trying to catch up on work…and scrolling through all the AMAZING comments, social media tags, and press from the last three days. It’s truly amazing. Thanks for the support you all are showing my brother. He’s living up this gold medal win (well sort of, the jet lag on this quick trip cannot be fun) and traveling around with my brother Malachi, doing a quick US press tour. However, they’ll both be back on a plane to South Korea in a couple of days, as Red needs to start practice for Men’s Snowboard Big Air.
Crazy, crazy ride those two are on…
I mean, did you catch Red on Jimmy Kimmel Live Tuesday night? Here’s the link if you’d like to watch.
And that’s your quick Red and Kai update for the day. Let’s talk food, because you know, that is what I do best.
While the food here in South Korea has been awesome…there’s been a lot of Korean Beef, ramen, and we had some amazing dumplings yesterday in Seoul…I must say, I’m looking forward to heading home and cooking up some of my favorite comfort meals, like this easy one skillet chicken dinner.
I made this before we left for Korea and it was the perfect easy, healthy, cozy dinner to eat the day before a long flight. Plus, it’s full of carbs, lemon, and veggies, so very much my kind of food.
The chicken is pan seared along with some fresh lemon slices and a little butter. The chicken becomes crispy, and the lemon slices caramelize, making them sweet enough to eat. I am aware that eating the whole lemon, peel and all, is still a little odd to many of you, but try it out this way. I promise, it’s so good.
The chicken and lemon alone could be an awesome recipe, classic and delicious, but me being me, I needed to add a little more to the recipe, so in came the orzo.
I mean, obviously, you have to have the carbs, you just do.
You could certainly use quinoa or another grain, but if I were you, I’d go with the orzo. It’s just fitting with this recipe and so delicious in the lemon butter sauce.
This recipe is not only delicious, it’s also super easy…one skillet, under an hour, and uses mostly pantry staple ingredients.
Cool. Cool.
It’s a crowd pleaser, and actually comes out of the oven looking relatively pretty. I threw on some fresh dill for color and served the chicken and orzo up right out of the skillet. Perfect for easy weeknight dinners or even entertaining.
Also, I get a lot of questions about what my favorite cast iron skillet is…I always, always use Staub. The ten and twelve inch are my favorites, I used the twelve inch for this recipe.
If I wasn’t getting home so late tonight, I’d for sure be making this for dinner. Instead, this will definitely be on my table as Friday night’s meal.
Can’t wait to start getting caught up on everything at home. Sorry for being MIA with comments this past week, I will be catching up soon. Thanks for all the messages!
Watch the How To Video Here:
One Skillet Lemon Butter Chicken and Orzo
Servings: 6 servings
Calories Per Serving: 337 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pound chicken breasts or small thighs
- kosher salt and pepper
- 1 Meyer or regular lemon, sliced
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 clove garlic, minced or grated
- 1 cup orzo pasta
- 1/3 cup white wine
- 2 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1/2 a bunch kale, roughly torn
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.2. Heat the olive oil in a large dutch oven or cast iron skillet set over medium high heat. Season the chicken all over with salt and pepper. When the oil is shimmering, add the chicken and sear on both sides until golden, about 3-5 minutes per side. Remove the chicken from the skillet. 3. To the same skillet, add the butter and lemon slices. Sear the lemon until golden on each side, about 1 minute. Remove the lemon from the pan and add to the plate with the chicken. 4. To the same skillet, add the garlic and orzo. Cook until the garlic is fragrant and the orzo toasted, about 2-3 minutes. Add the wine to the skillet and de-glaze the pan. Add the chicken broth, kale, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil over high heat and stir. Slide the chicken, lemon slices, and any juices left on the pan back into the skillet. Transfer to the oven and roast, uncovered for 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.4. Serve the chicken topped with fresh dill and lemon zest. EAT!
Chicken dinner for the win…or the GOLD?! I dunno, but clearly I am still way too excited that my brother is an Olympic Gold Medalist. No big deal or anything…
I just made this recipe tonight and it was super delicious! I did find there to be a bitter after taste in my orzo so I’m thinking I may have used a bad lemon or too much – is that something that can happen? Would love any suggestions for the next time I try it out! Thank you!!
Hey Emily,
Wonderful!! Thank you so much for trying this recipe out, I am so glad to hear that it was a winner! It could be that the lemon was not caramelized enough, sorry about that! xxT
This is the BEST weeknight staple dinner. I make it almost every week. Sometimes I even add in some thinly sliced mushrooms and artichokes — it is SO delicious!
Hi Sam,
Wonderful!! Love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks a lot for making it! ☘️xx
That sometimes happens to me if there is too much of the white rind on the lemons.
Another winner. Thanks! So looking forward to leftovers tonight.
Hey Jackie,
Happy Wednesday!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for giving it a go!! ☘️Tieghan
I have made this 3x. Fam fav.
Hi Anina,
Wonderful!! I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks a bunch for trying it out! Have the best weekend❄️ xTieghan
Delicious and easy to make! Will definitely be making this for family and guests!
Hi Danielle,
Thanks a bunch for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear that it was a hit!! xTieghan
Made this last night and it was delicious! It came together incredibly easily. We had to sub arborio rice for orzo (couldn’t find any at the store) and skipped the kale but it was a super easy weeknight meal.
Hi Katie,
Thanks a bunch for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear that it was a hit!! xTieghan
This has become a regular meal in our home for 2 years now! It’s on our list of go to meals. Only bummer is we never seem to have much left over to take to work… maybe because our serving sizes are too big. We can’t seem to get enough.
We LOVE it.
Hey Hannah,
Fantastic! Thanks a lot for making this recipe, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! Have a great week:) xx
This dish was amazing. Definitely a family favorite- my guys were trying to finish their plates as quickly as possible to get seconds before the others. Nailed it – seriously impressed.
Hey Jamie,
Awesome!! Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am so glad to hear that it was enjoyed!! xx
My wife and I loved this! I used salmon fillets instead of chicken and it worked great. Since that required less cooking time, I only nestled the fish and lemon slices back into the pan for the last 5 minutes or so when orzo was closer to done, instead of the full 15 minutes. Also, we garnished with lemon zest.
Interestingly, Giada suddenly has a very similar recipe on her website ?. She adds shallots and sun dried tomatoes which both sound good to me, but she skips the lemon slices and uses thyme instead of dill. For our tastes, when using salmon instead of chicken, we would prefer the dill and the nice bitterness from lemon slices as written in this recipe.
Very nice recipe! We will probably use this again!
Hey Paul,
Wonderful!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for making it! xT
Very easy recipe, super delicious. Perfect after a long, stormy Seattle day. I added a lot more garlic than the recipe called for and threw in some chili flakes.
Hey Sara,
Wonderful!! Love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks a lot for giving it a go:) xTieghan
I substituted spinach for kale, and rice wine vinegar instead of wine for deglazing the pan. This was absolutely delicious, period. I will be making this again for my super picky family.
The negative comments about bitterness, and declaration they will never make it again, clearly came from home cooks who probably can’t cook in the first place. Just saying! This was fantastic with very minimal adjustments.
Hey Andrea,
Happy Friday!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! xTieghan
Sorry, the review I left below was for a different dish…sorry for the confusion. This dish was good, too!?
No worries, thanks so much Lora!
This dish was so delicious. I added just a half pound of ground turkey for some added protein and I didn’t have any kale so I added what I had, arugula, at the end to let it wilt before serving. My husband loved it. Thanks for another winner.
Hey Lora,
I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks a lot for giving it a try!! xxT
Made this tonight – the flavor was wonderful but we ended up with about a cup of liquid when everything was cooked – more like a soup. It was still yummy, just wondering what went wrong since I followed the recipe to a T
Hi Maya,
Thanks so much for trying the recipe!! Hmmm did you use orzo? Let me know how I can help! xTieghan
Tieghan, being a professional chef myself I an one of you biggest fans. I made this tonight and was not one of my favorites. You did not say what type of chicken, boneless or bone in, skin on or skinless. I used skinless thighs and they didn’t brow as well. Too much lemon juice and the lemons made it bitter ( it could of been my lemons). There was too much liquid left and when I cooked it longer my orzo was over cooked. I’m glad others had better success. 1st recipe that didn’t work for me but I still love you.
Hi Deena,
So very sorry to hear this. The reason I didn’t specify was because the recipe really works well with breasts or thighs, skinless or skin on, bone in or boneless. So sorry you didn’t enjoy the results, thanks for making it. xTieghan
I’ve made this for my family and they love it. Want to make it for a dinner party this weekend. How much of it can you make ahead of time?
Hey Suzie,
Awesome!! Love hearing that this recipe was a winner, thanks a lot for giving it a go! I am not sure I would make ahead, the orzo could turn mushy and the chicken could dry out. Have the best weekend:) xTieghan
My neighbor shared this recipe with me, saying that her family loved it. I looked over the ingredients and have always liked the combination of lemon and dill, so gave it a try. My family really enjoyed it — my fairly picky son asked me to put this one in the weekly rotation of weeknight dinners. I have made it twice now and have learned that I need to double the recipe because the pan is emptied and scraped within minutes after a first serving. This has been a HUGE hit at our house!
Hey Renee,
Fantastic!! Love hearing that this recipe was a hit, thanks for making it:) Have the best day! xxT