You will love this Molasses Balsamic Glazed Chicken if you like sweet and sour chicken. This is essentially sweet and sour but made with balsamic vinegar rather than white vinegar and with molasses rather than white sugar. So, it has that same sweet and sour flavour that you love, but with more depth because of the base flavour of the molasses and balsamic. It also looks cool because it has that deep dark brown, almost black colour. So, if you have a pack of chicken sitting around and don't know what to do with it, look no further.
Molasses Balsamic Glazed Chicken
Ingredients
One of the many nice things about this Molasses Balsamic Glazed Chicken recipe is that you likely have all the ingredients on hand already. If you don't, they are easy to find. So, what are they? It should come as no surprise that the first ingredient is chicken. I use chicken drum sticks in the recipe, but you can use full legs, thighs, breasts, or even wings. You may need to adjust the cooking time a little bit depending on what cut you use. Any cut of chicken will work. The other ingredients are balsamic vinegar, molasses, salt, pepper, chicken stock, garlic, and a little bit of cooking oil. I prefer peanut oil, but grapeseed oil, avocado oil, or canola will work.
Preparing The Chicken
The best way to get a good sear on any piece of meat is to ensure that it has a dry surface. The easiest way to do that is to dry it with a paper towel. So, that's what you should do. Use a paper towel and dry the surface of the chicken as best you can. Then, season the chicken generously with salt and pepper. Next, heat a large oven-safe skillet on high heat. Add the cooking oil, then the chicken. Sear on all sides.
Building the Molasses Balsamic Glaze
Once the chicken is seared, add the garlic and sauté for one minute. Next, pour in the molasses and balsamic vinegar. Cook the sauce until a line drawn on the pan's surface with a spoon stays for one second. Next, add the chicken stock, bring it to a boil, and cook for three minutes.
Baking The Molasses Balsamic Glazed Chicken
After the chicken stock has boiled for three minutes, put the pan in a 350°f oven for twenty minutes. Take the chicken out of the oven, flip it and put it back in the oven for another ten minutes or until the chicken is cooked. Take the chicken out of the sauce and set it on a serving platter. Put the pan on high heat and boil until the sauce is thick. A line drawn on the bottom of the pan should stay for at least two seconds. Pour the sauce over the chicken and serve.
The Wrap-Up
Molasses Balsamic Glazed Chicken is a tasty way to transform that boring pack of chicken into something exceptional. It's sweet. It's sour; it has depth and richness. What more could you possibly want? Try it for yourself, and if you enjoy it, remember to return and leave a rating on the recipe and share it with your friends.
Recipe
Equipment
- 1 oven-safe large skillet
- tongs
- Measuring Cups
Ingredients
- 1 pkg chicken drum sticks (12)
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- ½ cup balsamic vinegar
- ¼ cup molasses
- 2 cloves sliced garlic
- 1 cup chicken stock
Instructions
- Pat the chicken dry and season with salt and pepper.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the oil.
- Sear the chicken on all sides until deep golden brown.
- Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute.
- Add the molasses and balsamic vinegar and cook until the sauce is thick enough that a line drawn on the bottom of the pan stays for at least 1 second.
- Add the stock, bring to a boil, cook for 3 minutes on high heat, and then put the pan in the oven at 350°f for 20 minutes.
- Remove the chicken from the oven, flip and put it back in the oven for another 10 minutes.
- Once the chicken is cooked, put it on a platter. Put the pan back on the stove on high and bring to a boil. Cook the sauce for 2 to 3 minutes or until thick. Pour the sauce over the chicken and serve.
Pierre says
Really nice recipe. Very flavourful. Short ingredient list and quick and easy to prepare. The only thing that was missing from the printed copy of the recipe is the last step where after you take the pan out of the oven, you remove the chicken and thicken up the sauce before pouring it over the chicken on a serving platter.
Chef Ben Kelly says
Thank you Pierre. I will adjust the recipe.