Apple Honey Chicken!

So this year’s Yom Kippur chicken dish was inspired by Food Network Magazine. There was a recipe for Apple-Honey coated drumsticks that looked absolutely delicious. However, since my father is SUPER picky, and he won’t eat any dark meat, I used chicken breasts instead so this turned out more like a marinade than a coating over the chicken.

But the end result was fantastic! The marinade had great flavor and because the chicken basted in it for a day, when I heated it up, it was so nice and moist. I’d call this a success!

So here is how I changed the recipe…instead of baking the drumsticks, I used a skillet on the stovetop and gently cooked the chicken until it was just cooked through. I made the sauce, and then I put the chicken in a large Tupperware, poured the sauce over it and stuck it in the fridge for a day and a half until I served dinner. Then I just baked it in its marinade for about 15, 20 minutes. Normally I wouldn’t marinate for so long, but I was making my Yom Kippur dishes over several nights, so in this case, the extra soak time really helped the chicken. I would say overnight or a few hours would do it also.

If you don’t have the time and just pour the marinade over the chicken and eat it right away, it should also work, since that is how the recipe was designed to begin with.

I’ll definitely make this again – it had a delightful sweet and tangy flavor. It was also really easy and not too time consuming.

Here is the recipe:

INGREDIENTS:

• 12 skin-on chicken drumsticks (I used 5 chicken breasts)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 cups apple juice
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons honey
• Grated zest of 1 lemon
• 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 teaspoons sesame seeds (optional)
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Set a wire rack on a rimmed baking sheet. Put the drumsticks on the rack and season both sides generously with salt and pepper. Bake 30 minutes; flip the drumsticks and continue baking until golden and crisp, about 30 more minutes.
(*** This is obviously for the original recipe. I used a skillet on medium heat and sautéed the chicken until just cooked. Then I set it aside on a plate until I placed it in the marinade).

Make the sauce: Bring the apple juice, vinegar, soy sauce, honey, lemon zest, red pepper flakes and a pinch of salt to a boil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer until the sauce is syrupy and coats the back of a spoon, 20 to 25 minutes. Set aside until the chicken is done.
Stir the sesame seeds into the sauce, if using, and warm over medium heat, if necessary.

Transfer the chicken to a large bowl. Add the sauce and butter and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper.

Transfer the chicken to a platter and drizzle with any remaining sauce from the bowl.