NJ SPICE

Balsamic Glazed Chicken and Potatoes

I have problems with many of the recipe videos I see posted on Facebook, the ones that companies post, not those of home cooks, who are 100% entitled to cook what they like.

The “professional” recipe videos often have strange ingredient combinations, oddball measurements, painful amounts of sweeteners, etc. Or they gloss over techniques that may not work so well in practice (I have a good eye for that kind of thing, thanks to years of “interpreting” recipes for my In The Kitchen columns.)

But one recipe caught my attention recently because it sounded so darned good. And it was! I briefly posted about this dish on Facebook after I made it a couple weeks ago, but thought it was worth sharing here too. Next time I might slip some shallots or wedges of onion among the potatoes, too. I’ve linked the title below to the online recipe and video, but in the instructions here I’ve made a few changes in wording, plus suggestions of my own in italics.

Balsamic Glazed Chicken

1/2 c. balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp. honey

1 1/2 tbsp. whole-grain mustard

3 cloves garlic, minced

kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (use boneless-skinless if you must, but don’t overcook)

2 c. baby red potatoes, halved (quartered if large, no larger than 1-inch chunks recommended)

1 tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary

2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

3-4 rosemary sprigs, for skillet

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine vinegar, honey, mustard, and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Whisk until combined. Add chicken thighs and toss until fully coated, then transfer to the fridge to marinate at least 20 minutes and up to 1 hour. (Mine were marinated closer to 3 hours.)

Meanwhile, toss potatoes in a medium bowl with chopped rosemary and 1 tablespoon olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

In a large oven-proof skillet, over medium-high heat, heat remaining tablespoon oil. Add chicken (reserve marinade) and sear, skin side down, 2 minutes, then flip and sear 2 minutes more. Add marinade and bring to simmer; turn off heat, and then add potatoes to the skillet, nestling them between chicken, and rosemary sprigs.

Transfer to the oven and bake until potatoes are tender and chicken is cooked through, 20 minutes. If potatoes need longer to cook , transfer chicken to a cutting board to rest and continue cooking until tender. (I did gently turn over some of the potatoes about halfway through to encourage browning.)

Serve chicken and potatoes with pan drippings.