Lemon Honey Maple Chicken
INGREDIENTS
• 3 1/2 to 4 lbs chicken parts (thighs preferred), wash and pat dry
• 1/4 cup liquid Pinecreek honey
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 tbsp lemon zest
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/2 cup Dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
DIRECTIONS
• Set oven at 350F. In a small bowl whisk together the honey, maple syrup, lemon zest, lemon juice, Dijon mustard and cinnamon to form the sauce.
• In a large bowl combine sauce with chicken parts until completely covered. Transfer to a 9 X 13 casserole dish. Cover with aluminum foil and place dish in the middle of the oven.
Skin-On Version
• If serving chicken with the skin on, first remove the chicken from the oven after 1 hour. Remove and discard aluminum foil.
• Turn the oven on to broil. Place the dish about 4 inches below the broiler and broil until the skin is brown. This can take up to 15 minutes. If necessary, shift the casserole dish around every 4 or 5 minutes to ensure even browning and to avoid any burning.
Skinless Version
• For this version, remove the dish from the oven after 1 hour and 10 minutes of cooking. Remove and discard aluminum foil. Allow the dish to cool at room temperature for half an hour. Remove skin from chicken pieces and discard. Store chicken and sauce in separate containers in the refrigerator overnight.
• The next day remove the fat layer from the sauce. Warm the sauce up in a small saucepan just enough so that it can be easily combined with chicken. Return chicken and sauce to the 9 X 13 casserole dish and cook uncovered in a 300F oven for about an hour or until heated through. If chicken pieces aren't totally immersed in sauce, they should be rotated 2 or 3 times during reheating.
