Seven Spice Chicken is an aromatic, warming Lebanese chicken dinner. Made with Deboned Chicken Quarters and seared for Crispy Skin and a Quick Dinner, or Whole Chicken Quarters baked in the oven. Optionally marinated for added flavor and zest.

Chicken

Chicken Quarters can be baked in the oven at 375 F for 45 minutes and then rested in the oven with the heat off for 15–20 minutes, or deboned and seared in Oil or rendered chicken fat about 5 minutes per side for a quick dinner.

Cleaning Chicken Quarters

If the Chicken Quarters have the backbone attached, then there will be internal organs lodge in the backbone. Scrap this out for cleaner, better tasting chicken. Trim away any excess skin.

How to debone Chicken Quarters

Pan Seared Boneless Chicken Quarters, Thighs and/or Legs is just the best and cooks up in no time for a quick meal. The only thing is deboning the Chicken. While that may seem tedious, especially if you have never done it before. I can promise you, the more you do it, the better you get, and you will be able to debone a Quarter Chicken in a matter of minutes. Once you get good, it really is nothing, and the crispy skin that a pan seared chicken quarter offers is just too good. Plus, you can save the Bones to freeze to make Chicken Broth at a later time.

The entire Chicken quarter can be deboned in one piece, or you can chop to separate the thighs from the leg and debone each piece separately, since the joint can be tricky, either way is fine.

Remove the Backbone

Bend back to separate the Backbone from the Thigh Bone and see where the Thigh Bone Joint is. Slice in between to separate, staying close to the backbone and maximizing meat. Ensure you have a very sharp knife.

Exposing the bone

Carefully run your knife along the length and to the bone. Scrape the meat away from the bone. Make small slits on each side of the bone with the tip of your knife, while scraping to expose more of the bone.

Remove the Bones

Insert the knife under the bone, but don’t slice through the other side. Slice slightly away from the bone towards the big knuckle to free it from the meat. Repeat for the Leg. Scrape the meat away from the thigh and leg joint and slice away from the meat. Careful not to slice through the skin.

Clean up

All that is left is to clean it up a bit. Inspect the meat for any bone fragments or hard pieces of cartilage. Scrap the meat off any tendons, or just chop them away. Trim the skin and slice any thick pieces of meat to flap over and get a pretty uniform thickness throughout.

Seven Spice

This is my go-to Seven Spice blend that I believe offers the best flavor with the ratios that are used. Just season the chicken using about 1/4 tsp of Sea Salt per piece or 1/2 a tsp per quarter and the desired amount of Seven spice made of all ground spices.

Seven Spice Chicken Marinade

You can just opt to Oil and Season the Chicken with Seven Spice and some Sea Salt to lift the flavors and blend or marinate for an extra layer and depth of flavor. Use the Lebanese Lemon Chicken Marinade or combine 1/4 C Oil & Lemon Juice with the desired amount of Seven Spice and about 1/2 tsp of sea salt per quarter chicken to marinate.

How to cook Seven Spice Chicken

You can cook Seven Spice Chicken a few different ways. It really depends on what you are after and whether you want bone in or boneless. Below is Oven Baked or Seared, but you can also do Chicken Breast that are baked, seared or steamed. Just adjust the cook time for the Breasts.

Oven Baked

Whole Chicken Quarters or Quarters separated into Thighs & Legs, baked in the oven at 375 F for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, shut the heat off, but leave the Chicken in the oven for 15–20 minutes before serving. Place into the oven presentation side down and flip them over about halfway through the cook. Optionally, you can score the Chicken if marinating to allow the marinade to get in deeper.

Boneless Chicken Seared

Boneless Chicken Thighs, Legs or Quarters, are seared in a skillet set over medium heat with enough fat to cover the bottom of the pan. Sear the Chicken, skin side down and on each side, for 5 minutes per side or until the juices run clear. The one below was just seasoned with Salt & Seven Spice and refrigerated for some time before being brought out to sear. If time permits, then refrigerate the seasoned chicken to allow the flavors to permeate into the meat more.

Rendered Chicken Fat

The trimming from the Chicken can be rendered out to contribute some Fat for searing and adds flavor. Place a pan over medium to medium low heat and add the trimmings. Cook and stir every so often until the fat renders out and the trimmings are golden brown and crisp. Top up the fat to ensure it covers the bottom of the pan, if there isn’t enough fat, and wait for it to get hot again before searing.

Seven Spice Chicken & Rice

Boneless Chicken Breast or Quarters seasoned with Seven Spice and served with Yellow Cumin Rice, diced Onions & Tomatoes, optionally with diced Cucumbers and chopped Lettuce. The Pepper Zing Mayo with a bit of water is used to drizzle over the entire dish for a White Halal Sauce and can be served with sliced Naan Bread. This is just an amazing and filling meal.