Honey Glazed Chicken

When I showed this recipe to Nate, he had to have it! So I added to our menu and made him help me cook it today. The chicken turned out so moist and tender, it was really good! The glaze was a bit sweet for me, but as long as I pulled the skin off I was fine. I may switch up the flavors next time, but I will definitely use this method for roasting chicken again. I adapted this recipe from one found at Mel's Kitchen Cafe, one of my favorite recipe blogs.

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken, about 4 pounds, giblets discarded
1 Tbsp. salt
2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. cornstarch
1 cup plus 1 Tbsp. water
1/4 cup honey
2 Tbsp. cider vinegar
1 cup chicken broth

Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and make sure the oven rack is in the middle of the oven. In a small bowl combine the salt, pepper and paprika. Pat the chickens dry with paper towels and rub the spice mixture under the skin and over the outside of each chicken. Tuck the wings behind the back and tie the legs together with kitchen twine.

Arrange the chickens, breast side down, on a V-rack set inside a roasting pan. Roast until the chickens are golden, about 35 minutes. Remove the roasting pan from the oven and carefully with a wad of paper towels, flip the chickens so that they are breast side up. Raise the oven temperature to 450 degrees. Pour 1 cup water and the broth into the roasting pan. Return the roasting pan to the oven and roast until the thigh meat registers 165 to 170 degrees, about 35-45 minutes.

Stir the cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water together in a small bowl until no lumps remain; set aside. In a small saucepan bring the honey and 4 tablespoons vinegar to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cook until the mixture is reduced to about 1/2 cup, 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Slowly whisk the cornstarch mixture into the glaze. Return to a simmer and cook for one minute.

Brush the chickens evenly with a layer of the glaze. Continue to roast until the glaze is golden brown, about 5-10 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and let it rest for 15 minutes (this is important – if the chicken is cut too quickly, all the delicious juices will escape and the meat will be dry).


I didn't notice until after the pictures were taken that my chicken was upside down! Sorry!