Chicken, Roasted and Marinated in Balsamic

Heather says:

This recipe for roast chicken tastes like effort marinated in herbs and vinegar. Really, it’s a throw together and toss in the oven kind of dish.  I won’t tell if you don’t, sometimes I like to pretend I’m working harder than I am. The chicken can be set to marinate the night before or the morning of the day you plan to serve the meal.

Balsamic Glazed Roast Chicken

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• Juice from 1 lemon
• 2 TBSP Dijon mustard
• 2 TBSP olive oil
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme

• 3 – 4 lbs chicken pieces or
  1 whole chicken cut up*
• salt / fresh ground pepper

*reserve the back / neck for stock

In a small bowl, whisk together the first 8 ingredients.  In a shallow, non-reactive container (ie glass or plastic, or even zippered plastic bag) pour all of the dressing over the chicken parts.

Cover and place the container in the refrigerator and allow to marinate for several hours or overnight. Turn the pieces once in a while to ensure they all have a reasonably even coating.

To cook:

Preheat the oven to 425F and make sure one of the racks is in the middle position.

Remove the chicken from the marinade and shake off any excess. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Place the chicken skin side up in a as small a baking dish as possible. The point is to ensure the skin is nicely browned, but the chicken isn’t spread out so far that it will dry out before it reaches a safe temperature.

Roast for approximately 1 hour, but use a meat thermometer and remove the chicken from the oven as soon as it hits 165F. (You can take it out at 163F or so as it will rise as much as another 5 degrees, depending on the thickness of the pieces).

Optional Serving Suggestion:

If you have would like, you can make a simple pan sauce from the drippings. Pour the drippings into a fat separator, add 1/2 cup of chicken stock or broth to the baking dish and scrape up any bits from the bottom. Pour the stock & browned bits into a skillet, heat over medium high heat. Add the liquid, but not the fat from the pan juices, some lemon zest or juice, and a pinch of chopped (fresh) parsley. Bring to a boil and serve over the chicken.

Enjoy!

Tagged as: Chicken, Cooking Basics, Easy Chicken Recipes, Gluten Free, Main Dishes, Recipe