Robust Flavors Combine in Honey Roasted Chicken
A Special Recipe for a Special Meal
I feel a little guilty here, I don’t feel like a vegetarian should tell you how to cook a honey roasted chicken, but I do recommend cooking with figs. This isn’t my recipe. I choose it because the imagery of the flavors of honey roasting with what I imagine chicken tastes like, hot and dripping in flavor and adding it to figs. My mind makes it a complex flavor where your mouth waters just as much as the chicken drips. To be fair, that’s how a lot of my recipes are chosen. Complex flavor. And this is one for the recipe book.
Recipes are also chosen to highlight a fruit or vegetable that you might have grown in your garden. This was chosen for the fig. The fig is sweet, and generally seen as so. I choose to put it into a savory dish to create that complex flavor. I happen to be the only vegetarian in the family, so the majority of meals do revolve around plant based mediums. However, I know how much my family loves chicken. I wouldn’t keep them from tasting these bursting flavors. It gives me pleasure to see them happy with a full belly.
This dish does take about 55 minutes to make, and unlike the image attached here, the chicken is just the thigh and fried.
Honey Roasted Chicken & Figs
Ingredients
- 2-3 lbs bone-in skin-on chicken thighs (6 to 8)
- 1 t salt divided
- 1 t pepper divided
- 2 T olive oil
- 2 T red wine vinegar
- 1/4 c water
- 1/4 c honey
- pinch red pepper flakes
- 1 t cornstarch
- 1 large white onion thinly sliced
- 2 large shallots thinly sliced
- 8 cloves garlic whole
- 2 T fresh oregano leaves chopped plus 2 tbsp whole leaves
- 8 fresh figs
Instructions
Prep
- Preheat oven to 400° F.
- In a small bowl combine vinegar, water, honey, red pepper flakes, and cornstarch. Whisk to combine. Set aside.2 T red wine vinegar, 1/4 c water, 1/4 c honey, pinch red pepper flakes, 1 t cornstarch
- Season chicken on both sides with salt and pepper.1 t salt divided, 1 t pepper divided
Fry Chicken
- Heat a 12 or 14 in cast iron skillet on medium-high heat until hot.
- Add oil and chicken, skin side down.2-3 lbs bone-in
- Cook until skin is deep golden brown and crisp, about 8-10 minutes.
- Flip to brown second side, 2-4 minutes.
- Transfer to plate, set aside.
Fry
- Discard all but 2 T oil from the skillet.
- Reduce heat to medium.
- Add onions and shallots. Fry until translucent, about 5 minutes.1 large white onion thinly sliced, 2 large shallots thinly sliced
- Add whole garlic, cook additional minute.8 cloves garlic whole
- Add cornstarch mixture, oregano, and remaining black pepper.2 T fresh oregano leaves chopped
- Cook until thick, about 1-2 minutes.
Roast
- Add chicken skin side up to skillet.
- Add quartered figs.
- Roast in oven until figs are soft and caramelized slightly, about 15 min. Chicken should be cooked through (165° F).8 fresh figs
