Lemon Oregano Chicken Thighs & Sweet Potatoes w/ Chorizo

1 ½ Tbsp Oregano
1 Tbsp Salt
½ Tbsp coarse black pepper
1 Tbsp dried minced onion
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
9-12 bone-in, skin-on, chicken thighs (approximately 5 lbs)
1 roll of Spanish chorizo
1.5-2 lbs sweet potatoes

 

Combine spices, zest and juice in a bowl.  Trim any additional fat/hanging skin off all chicken thighs. Use your fingers to separate the skin from the meat on the chicken thighs. Rub spice mixture under skin, directly on the meat (about ½ tsp each thigh) and then rub remaining mixture on top of the skin.  (At this point – if you want – you can cover the meat and put it back in the fridge until you are ready to cook it.)

Fry the chorizo and break it apart as you fry it. Leave it slightly undercooked.

Cut up the sweet potato into 1.5-2 inch chunks. Layer sweet potato in the bottom of a 9x13 pan (I use stoneware, but glass or metal would work too.) Coat sweet potatoes with olive oil (approximately 2 Tbsp) and sprinkle with salt, pepper and onion powder.

 Distribute chorizo evenly over the sweet potatoes and pour any oil that remains in the pan over the potatoes as well.  Lay chicken thighs, skin side up, on the potatoes. Don’t overlap the thighs or they won’t get crispy and delicious.

Bake at 350 for 2 ½ hours. At the 2 hour mark, check the potatoes. If they are still pretty hard, remove the chicken to a separate pan, still in a single layer, skin side up, stir the potatoes and return both pans to the oven.

Delicious!  To reheat with a crispy skin – heat a non-stick frying pan over medium. Microwave the chicken for 1-2 minutes and then fry, skin side down for 2-3 minutes or until skin is crispy again.