Baked And Glazed Honey Shallot Chicken Recipe

Chicken sometimes gets a bad rap — and that's totally fair if you're talking about overcooked, dried-out, and unseasoned chicken breast. But that's not the only kind of chicken around, and thankfully, it's not hard to enhance it with a good marinade. Tasting Table recipe developer Jessica Morone makes a seriously good marinade in this baked and glazed honey shallot chicken recipe. The sweet and savory concoction infuses the meat with a delicious flavor that's further elevated with a glaze. 

"My favorite thing about this is the glaze you put on the chicken after it is baked," Morone shares and adds, "It is sweet and tangy and so good." If you're looking for a chicken dish that does all the talking, this is the one. "You can serve just about anything with this chicken," Morone comments. "It's good with veggies, salad, potatoes, and rice." Make dinner that much simpler by pairing this flavor-packed dish with a simple side and you're sure to be satisfied by the humble poultry once and for all.

For this recipe, get bone-in chicken thighs, honey, soy sauce, orange juice, Dijon mustard, melted butter, a minced shallot, salt, pepper, and scallions to garnish if desired.

Place the chicken in a large bowl or ziplock bag.

In a separate medium bowl whisk together the honey, soy sauce, orange juice, Dijon mustard, melted butter, minced shallot, salt, and pepper.

Set aside about ½ cup of the marinade in a small bowl or measuring cup. Cover and refrigerate.

Pour the remaining marinade over the chicken. Cover or seal and refrigerate for at least half an hour (up to 24 hours). Rotate the chicken at least once while it is marinating.

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.

Place the marinated chicken on the baking sheet, skin side up, with the pieces not touching. Discard the rest of the marinade in the bowl.

Bake for 40-45 minutes, until the skin is golden brown and a meat thermometer inserted into a thigh reaches 165 F.

While chicken is baking pour the reserved marinade into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and then simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes.

Brush the baked chicken with the glaze. Garnish with scallions if desired, then plate and serve.

Feel free to make this recipe for dinner tonight and save any extras for later in the week. "You can keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days," Morone notes. Reheat them in the microwave or oven depending on whether you're in a time crunch or have time to let the skin crisp up a bit.

While you can simply heat the whole thighs for your next meal and serve them in a similar fashion as you did the first time around, there are also plenty of ways to experiment with new meals. Morone has lots of suggestions and shares, "You could definitely take leftovers and remove the chicken from the bone and turn it into sandwiches, tacos, or put it over a salad or a rice bowl. There are lots of options." 

Morone calls for bone-in chicken thighs for this baked and glazed honey shallot chicken recipe, but she acknowledges, "You can definitely swap out the bone-in chicken thighs with either boneless chicken thighs or breasts, however, you will only need to bake those for about 30 minutes." If you're looking to cut your dinner prep time by 10 to 15 minutes, that would be a convenient alternative to consider. 

Of course, Morone chooses that particular cut for a reason: "The best part of the bone-in skin-on chicken thighs is that the skin gets super crispy and delicious, and the meat is very tender and juicy." If you're the kind of person who loves crispy, savory chicken skin, it doesn't really get better than this. Otherwise, just substitute skinless chicken for loads of flavor yet less of a crisp factor.