Mussakhan (Roast Chicken With Sumac and Red Onions)

I've made this several times since it was first posted to NYT. It's a winner in our household. Great use of dark-meat chicken ( thighs and/or legs ). The only quibble I have with the recipe ( posted by others ) is with the cooking temp. Finally figured out that baking the chicken uncovered at 425 F is the way to go. Two pounds of bone-in chicken prepared in a 10-inch cast iron skillet is done after 35 minutes. I set a timer for 20 minutes, and rotate the pan once during cooking.

DELICIOUS, easy and fast. Great recipe! I used 1 lb. of boneless skinless chicken thighs in lieu of the 2 lbs. of bone-in, and then followed the recipe exactly, though it took a shorter time to cook because the thighs were boneless. This is a keeper recipe!

This recipe—inexpensive, easy to prepare and wonderfully flavored—might easily make it onto people's rota. And, if you can find some really nice naan it could be a great dinner party dish. The problem with the recipe is the cooking instructions are not right. Disbelieving them I tried 400 degrees (watching carefully after 30 minutes). Next time, I will see what happens at 425 degrees.

Instead of lemon, you could use about a half cup of plain yogurt. Different flavor, browns faster. Kind of wonderful, though I'm not sure it would be Palestinian (maybe more Iranian). If you're following the recipe, consider increasing the oven temp to 400. At 375 the chicken is done before there's as much browning as I would like.

In Chicago you can buy a big bag of sumac at Middle East Bakery & Grocery in Andersonville. I'd imagine it's available at similar Middle Eastern markets in New York.

This came out great. Totally different flavor than the usual herb based roast chicken Just one question though...there was a lot of liquid in the cooking pan once the dish was ready. Is this normal? Is it from the onions or chicken releasing some of the liquid from the marinade. Thanks.

I bought bone-in thighs and removed the bones, since I wanted skin, but no bones. Easier and faster. Put onions on sheet pan, chicken on top. crank oven to 400 or 425 (convection @400 if you have one). Skin comes out crispy, chicken done, onions tender and a lot of juice to pour over the chicken and naan before serving. Absolute unanimous winner at dinner parties and family dinners.

Cook at 400 per notes.

Followed the recipe and loved the dish, served with a kale tabouleh salad and some homemade baba ganoush. My only issue was the chicken skin, which didn't crisp up as I expected it to. I wound up pulling it off (flabby chicken skin...gah), which is not a deal breaker. But I did hate losing the spices I had rubbed into it.

Made this last night for Passover Seder--fabulous!. I used bone-in breasts and thighs but took off the skin so the marinade would really penetrate, and marinated for about 8 hours. Probably less juice than if I'd used skin but still very moist--the pine nuts and parsley finish it off beautifully. I'll likely try it next time with boneless thighs/breasts.

I’ve made this 3 times now , once for company and twice for my husband and myself. It’s a wonderful easy dinner that we both love. I made it last night and added another onion because my husband loved them as much as the chicken. We have a convection oven that gives crispy skin and I reduced the time to 35 minutes. We will be making it again.

I followed the suggestions of other cooks who said the oven should be set at 400 degrees, not 375. I left it in the oven for one hour, but the onions were burned when I removed it. Clearly I should have been checking it at 45 minutes! This is good topped with slivered almonds instead of pine nuts. Could not find sumac, so I used lemon pepper. I also served it with rice, not naan. Don't skip the 3-hour marinade -- it's worth it! This dish was a hit at my dinner party.

Sumac is available at Whole Foods

I set the oven at 400 and timed for 30 minutes. At 30 minutes it was juicy and not quite done. So I broiled for five minutes. It was beautiful but still not quite done. So, I covered it in foil, turned the oven off and put it in for another 10 minutes. It was delicious. But I had to modify. I have herb salt with sumac, biber, rosemary, saffron, and smoked paprika. I used 1T of the salt and added 1/2T more of sumac. I also used 3T orange juice and 1T cane vinegar. Shallots instead too. So good.

Cost Plus World Market NOT Costco.