By using a mix of everyday herbs and spices, these oven-baked chicken quarters transform into a mouthwatering meal that’s perfect for any night of the week. Preparing this sheet-pan recipe is a breeze. Just stir together the spice rub and massage it onto the chicken quarters. After roughly 45 minutes, you’ll be rewarded with incredibly juicy and tender chicken that everyone will love!
What are Chicken Quarters?
Chicken quarters, commonly called chicken leg quarters, are the combined pieces of drumstick and thigh. They are considered dark meat and highly regarded as being the most flavorful parts of a chicken. They are very forgiving when it comes to cooking and are perfect for cooks of all skill levels. Chicken leg quarters are also usually very affordable so they’re ideal for budget-friendly meals.
Ingredients
One of the things I absolutely love about this recipe is that it’s simple and uses a mix of herbs and spices that you likely already have in your pantry and spice rack. This mix of spices is perfect for seasoning poultry and makes the tender, juicy meat of the chicken quarters even more savory. Let’s take a look and the spice rub mix…
- Salt and pepper
- Italian Seasoning
- Ground mustard
- Onion and garlic powder
- Paprika
The Italian blend seasoning is the perfect combination of several key spices, including oregano, thyme, rosemary and basil. The ground mustard adds a vibrance with a bit of spiciness that compliments the other flavors and brings everything to life. It’s a wonderful ingredient and perfect for poultry recipes. The paprika adds a mild flavor to the spice mix and of course, it’s excellent color.
Preparation
Begin by preparing a baking sheet by lining it with foil. This will help with cleanup.
Next, remove any excess skin or fat from the chicken. Sometimes chicken quarters have extra skin between the thigh and leg joint. Trim and discard it. Thoroughly pat dry the chicken skin using paper towels. This step is crucial to ensure the skin becomes crispy by eliminating excess moisture.
Once you’ve combined all the ingredients for the spice rub, brush both sides of the chicken with olive oil, then evenly apply the seasoning rub. Press it into the skin. I like to apply a thin coating of oil to the skin side of the chicken quarters after all the spice rub has been added.
Finally, arrange the seasoned chicken on the prepared sheet pan, and it’s ready to be placed in the oven.
Bake at 425°(F) for 35-45 minutes
Place the sheet pan of chicken into a preheated oven set to 425°F and bake for 35-45 minutes. While chicken is considered safe to eat when its internal temperature reaches 165°F, we want our chicken quarters to reach around 195°F for optimal results. At 195°F, the collagen breaks down, resulting in incredibly tender and flavorful chicken that is juicy and succulent. If the chicken is only cooked to 165°F, it will be tough and lacking in juiciness. Note that the internal temperature of 165°F is suitable for white meat, such as chicken breast, but for dark meat quarters, we aim for 195°F.
An Instant Read Thermometer: Your Best Friend in the Kitchen
To achieve the target temperature of 195°F, remove the chicken from the oven when the internal temperature registers approximately 185°F on an instant-read thermometer. Once taken out of the oven, the temperature will continue to rise, reaching our desired temperature in about 5 minutes.
For more information on cooking chicken above 165°, check out this great article by America’s Test Kitchen.
An essential tool in your kitchen is an instant-read thermometer, as it allows you to accurately measure the internal temperature of foods for optimal results. In recipes like this one, the size of the chicken quarters may vary, and oven temperatures can differ as well. While the approximate cooking time is 35-45 minutes, we can ensure perfectly cooked chicken every time by monitoring the internal temperature. Again, for this recipe, it’s recommended to remove the chicken from the oven when it reaches 185°F.
Let Chicken Rest Before Serving
When the chicken is done, remove from the oven and let it rest for about 5-10 minutes. By allowing the chicken to rest, the juices have a chance to seep back into the meat. As the chicken cools, the proteins start to relax, and the juices are able to move back through the meat. This helps keep the chicken juicy and flavorful when you cut into it.
Goes Well With…
Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes: A natural pairing, our Instant Pot mashed potatoes are easy to make, rich, and OH so good!
Air Fryer Brussels Sprouts: With a pit of parmesan cheese and ranch seasonings, these are sure to please even the pickiest eaters.
Country Creamy Coleslaw: Another natural pairing, chicken and coleslaw go together perfectly for the most comforting of meals.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sure it can, just make sure you have enough rook on your sheet pan. Chicken quarters can be pretty large. Just double everything. Cooking time will be closer to 45 minutes but monitor with instant read thermometer.
This chicken is best when it’s fresh out of the oven. That’s when we have some nice crisp on the skin and the juiciest meat. However, if meal planning for the week, it certainly makes a delicious meal the next day. It’s even better this way when shredded up and put over a salad.
Preheat your oven to 325°F. Place the cooked chicken quarters on a baking sheet and loosely cover them with aluminum foil to keep them from drying out. Put the baking sheet in the oven and heat the chicken quarters for 15-20 minutes. Remove the foil for the last 5 minutes of heating for crispier skin.
Absolutely you can? If you have a favorite chicken seasoning blend, go right ahead and use it.
Recipe
Best Damn Oven Baked Chicken Quarters
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings
Description
Mouthwatering, juicy oven baked chicken quarters are made with a simple seasoning mix and oven roasted to perfection in about 45 minutes.
Ingredients
- 4 chicken leg quarters
- 1.5 tbs Italian seasoning
- 1.5 tsp kosher salt (adjust to taste)
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp ground mustard
- ½ tsp paprika
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tbs olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°(F) and prepare a baking sheet by lining it with aluminum foil.
- In a small bowl, mix all dry ingredients to create seasoning rub.
- Trim chicken leg quarters of any excess skin and fat, then pat dry with paper towels.
- Lightly brush both sides of chicken quarters with oil and liberally apply seasoning rub.
- With skin side up, press seasoning rub into chicken skin and apply a final brushing of oil so nothing is too dry.
- Bake in oven 35 to 45 minutes or until internal temperature reads 185°F on an instant read thermometer (see notes below)*
- When chicken is done, remove from oven and let rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Notes
Dark meat such as chicken quarters greatly benefit from cooking to higher internal temps. By removing from oven with internal temperature of 185°F, the temp will continue to rise to 190-195°(F), which is the target temp. This is when when proteins and collagen break down, creating a much jucier and enjoyable chicken.
- Prep Time: 5 min
- Cook Time: 45 min
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Bonnie says
This was great, a nice way to oven roast chicken with home blended spices. I don’t have Italian seasoning but do grow oregano thyme basil rosemary sage so I just did a non measured mix w/the other ingredients. Thanks-the hardest thing about being “the cook” is the what, not the how. You made it easier.
KJ says
Detected no lie in the recipe name!!!! This was hit with the family and was so DELISH!!!! Easy to prepare and wow it’s a keeper!!!!
Christie says
I made this last night and OMG I agree with the title, it was by far the best damn chicken I’ve ever baked, wow! Seasonings were so perfect, skin nice and crispy, chicken was so juicy! So happy with this recipe, thank you!
Judith says
Just made this recipe, it was exactly what I was looking for. Very juicy and not dry. The only thing different that I did was cut the recipe in half since I was using 2 leg quarters vs 4. Paired the chicken with roasted sweet potatoes.
Irina says
This has become a staple in my house! I received quarters by mistake in a grocery order and found this recipe. I buy quarters every other week now! It’s simple, easy, and perfect for weeknight meals. No notes – make exactly as directed and you’ll have a winner!
Karen M. says
This was fantastic! Purchased a 10 pound bag of chicken quarters to use in several recipes and used this recipe and am so pleased I did! I never knew about the temperature difference for dark meat – but it worked like a charm! So tender and yummy. Thank you for sharing this. 🙂
Vince Lane says
Absolutely tender, juicy and full of flavor
It 55 minutes but I learned some valuable insight. I never realized that the higher cooked temperatures in dark meat and the additional few minutes to let everything acclimate was the real key to the best tasting leg quarters I have ever cooked and or eaten 😋. So very worth the extra few minutes. Thank you for sharing this recipe and the insights.
Vince
Shanna says
I made this for supper tonight and I got a thumbs up from my husband. I am hoping to make a chicken soup with the bones and leftover chicken.
RD says
Yummy!
Jo says
This recipe is simple and week night friendly. I’ve been busy with new job training and my husband is just always busy, and I made this for dinner tonight. He wasn’t quite at the point to sit down for dinner, so I took him just a bite to try. He asked for another. And another. And another. And then suddenly was ready for dinner an hour early 😂. This was DELICIOUS and will go into our rotation.
RecipeTeacher says
I love it!! Thanks for the feedback, Jo!