Sunday, June 20, 2010

Chicken roasted with lime and maple syrup


Yesterday I was planning to cook some chicken parts in the oven with garam masala and yogurt. Then, while having a look at some blogs referenced at http://jennsfoodjourney.blogspot.com/, I visited http://lifesambrosia.com/ and was metaphorically struck between the eyes by a recipe for chicken with lime and honey. I recalled how often Jenn would use lime and how I don’t so much.

So, with gratitude to these two, I incorporated their ideas into what turned out to be some of the tastiest chicken I have ever made. The amount of glaze (or sauce) was indicated for a whole cutup chicken. I used the whole batch for what I guess was about ½ a chicken: 2 big legs and 2 big thighs.

Instead of honey I used some top-quality maple syrup we had. The cooking time for me was 45 minutes, probably because I took the (previously) brined chicken pieces out of the fridge 45 minutes before cooking.

Our appetites are not as gargantuan as they once were, and we each ate one thigh. This morning Peter turned the leg meat into a chicken salad.

Chicken roasted with lime and maple syrup
2 chicken legs and 2 chicken thighs
kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper
1 jalapeno, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp maple syrup
2 tablespoons olive oil
juice from 1 lime

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Rinse and pat dry the chicken. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place on a baking sheet skin side down.

Combine jalapeno, garlic, maple syrup, olive oil and lime juice in a food processor. Process for about 30 seconds or until jalapenos are chopped fine.

Brush jalapeno lime mixture over the top of the chicken about 5 minutes before putting it in the oven. This gets some of the flavor on what will be the bottom side. Turn the chicken skin side up and brush with more sauce, reserving just enough to add later.

Bake in preheated oven for 45 – 60 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. If the skin starts to brown too much tent some foil over the top. Heat the reserved sauce in the microwave and brush it onto the chicken while it does a 5 minutes rest before serving.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

This looks and sounds amazing! Ok, yea, I love lime...this week is lime week at our house too. Got a whole bunch of key limes for a dollar yesterday at the store. I don't have any maple syrup though...well besides Log Cabin :) Gonna have to put that on my next grocery list!

Mrs. L said...

I love your idea of substituting maple syrup for the honey in the dish. I'll have to test out both recipes, thanks for the idea.

Gourmet Mama said...

I use a lot of limes in my cooking and recently a friend brought me some real maple syrup from Canada, so this recipe is ideal for us! Thanks for sharing.

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