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Crispy Garlic Scape Compound Butter Chicken with Golden Skin

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A quick and easy pan-seared chicken breast recipe featuring a flavorful garlic scape compound butter that creates irresistibly crispy, golden skin and tender, juicy meat.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 boneless, skin-on chicken breasts (6–8 ounces / 170–225 grams each)
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • 3–4 garlic scapes, finely chopped (or substitute with 2 garlic cloves, minced)
  • 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
  • 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon neutral oil with a high smoke point (grapeseed or avocado oil)

Instructions

  1. Make the garlic scape compound butter: In a small bowl, combine softened unsalted butter, finely chopped garlic scapes, fresh thyme leaves, lemon zest, salt, and pepper. Mix well until evenly incorporated. Cover and refrigerate while prepping the chicken (about 10 minutes).
  2. Prepare the chicken: Pat chicken breasts dry with paper towels. Season both sides generously with kosher salt and black pepper. Let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes.
  3. Heat the skillet: Place a cast iron or heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of neutral oil and heat until shimmering but not smoking.
  4. Sear the chicken, skin-side down: Lay chicken breasts in the pan skin side down. Press gently with spatula or tongs for full contact. Cook 6-8 minutes without moving until skin is golden and crispy.
  5. Flip and cook the other side: Turn chicken over and reduce heat to medium. Add about 1 tablespoon of garlic scape compound butter on top of each breast. Let it melt and baste chicken as it cooks for another 6-8 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165°F (74°C).
  6. Rest the chicken: Remove chicken from skillet and let rest for 5 minutes loosely covered with foil.
  7. Serve: Spoon any remaining melted garlic scape butter from the pan over the chicken before serving.

Notes

Pat chicken skin dry thoroughly before cooking to ensure crispiness. Use neutral oil with a high smoke point to avoid burning. Do not move chicken while searing skin-side down to develop golden crust. If butter browns too fast, lower heat. For even cooking, pound chicken breasts to uniform thickness if needed. Compound butter can be made a day ahead for deeper flavor. Leftovers keep up to 3 days refrigerated; reheat gently in skillet skin-side down to revive crispiness.

Nutrition

Keywords: garlic scape chicken, compound butter chicken, crispy skin chicken, pan-seared chicken, garlic butter chicken, easy chicken recipe, weeknight dinner

Find it online: https://coracooks.com/crispy-garlic-scape-butter-chicken-recipe-perfect-for-golden-skin-chicken-lovers/