The CHICKEN BIBLE strikes again! Once more, I needed to make changes to the recipe but another delicious, succulent chicken. I was impressed on how moist the chicken stayed even though I think I cooked it about 10 minutes too long. I was also impressed that it didn’t come out as sweet as I thought. Not difficult, a fairly easy recipe to make, very little preparation time, less than an hour, beginning to end. This would also work great for turkey or even duck. I did find the sauce a little bland so I added a dash of hot sauce but some coriander would also work.
In a 12″ skillet (oven proof) combine:
1 cup water
1 cup soy sauce substitute (of course if you are able, you can use regular soy sauce)
1/4 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons date sugar
2 tablespoons unsulfured molasses
1 tablespoon rice vinegar (or white vinegar)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce (optional)
Whisk to combine and dissolve the sugar. Place in the sauce, skin side down:
4 chicken leg quarters (leave whole or cut between legs and thighs)*
2″ stick of fresh ginger, peeled and halved (lengthwise) then smashed
6 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
Bring to a boil and simmer over medium low heat for 5 minutes. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. After 5 minutes place skillet in the oven uncovered and cook for 25-30 minutes. Turn chicken pieces over so that the skin side is now up and bake another 15-25 minutes or until chicken reaches 195 degrees. Remove from oven. Remove chicken from skillet and set aside.
At this point, pour the cooking liquid through a strainer to remove the bits of garlic and pieces of ginger. Strain into a fat separator if you have one and let sit for 5 minutes so the fat rises to the surface and can be removed.* Turn the oven to broil.
Add the strained and defatted liquid back into the skillet and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Add:
Slurry made with 1 tablespoon arrowroot (or tapioca starch) mixed into 1/2 cup water (or chicken stock)
Whisk to combine and continue whisking until the sauce thickens, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Pour into a bowl and set aside. Place chicken, skin side up, back into the skillet and place under the broiler for 4-5 minutes until the skin is crispy and crackling. (I put my chicken pieces on a small baking sheet lined with parchment and broiled them while I made my sauce.) Serve with the sauce on the side. Makes 4 servings. Serve over rice or mashed potatoes. I sprinkled some toasted sesame seeds on mine after I served it with the sauce.
*I don’t have a fat separator so I didn’t do this step but there wasn’t a lot of fat in my pan because I trimmed the fat off the thighs before putting them in the skillet.
cookingwithoutallergens 