Description
This Fig Glazed Skillet Chicken is a flavorful and elegant dish featuring succulent roasted chicken pieces glazed with a luscious balsamic vinegar and fig preserves sauce. Infused with garlic and rosemary, this recipe is perfect for a comforting dinner that impresses with its rich and slightly sweet glaze, all prepared conveniently in a cast iron skillet.
Ingredients
Chicken and Butter Mixture
- ¼ cup (57 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 3 cloves garlic, minced (divided)
- 3 sprigs rosemary, destemmed and minced (divided)
- 2 teaspoons salt (divided)
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper (divided)
- 1 fryer chicken, broken into 6 or 8 pieces (6 drumsticks and 2 thighs with skin on)
Sauce
- ½ cup (118 g) balsamic vinegar
- ½ cup (112 g) fig preserves
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 425 °F (218 °C) to prepare for roasting the chicken.
- Prepare Butter Mixture: In a small bowl, combine the softened butter with half of the minced garlic, half of the minced rosemary, half of the salt, and half of the black pepper. Mix well to create a flavorful herb butter.
- Season Chicken: Place the chicken pieces into a 9-inch cast iron skillet. Rub the prepared herb butter mixture evenly on the outside of each chicken piece to ensure a flavorful crust.
- Begin Roasting: Place the skillet with the chicken into the preheated oven to start roasting. This initial roasting will partially cook the chicken and help render the skin.
- Prepare Sauce: While the chicken roasts, whisk together the balsamic vinegar, fig preserves, and the remaining garlic, rosemary, salt, and black pepper until fully combined to create the glaze.
- Glaze Chicken: Remove the chicken from the oven and brush most of the fig balsamic sauce over the chicken pieces. Return the skillet to the oven to continue cooking, basting the chicken with the sauce every 10 minutes or so to build layers of flavor.
- Cook to Temperature: Continue roasting until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 °F (74 °C), about 25 minutes. This ensures the chicken is cooked through and juicy.
- Finish and Serve: Pour any remaining sauce over the chicken before setting the skillet aside to cool briefly. Serve warm and enjoy the rich, glazed chicken.
Notes
- For step 4: Ideally, you can wait to put the chicken in the oven until after glazing it to avoid pulling the chicken in and out of the oven. However, following the original cookbook method is perfectly fine and flexible.
- The cast iron skillet helps achieve a crispy skin and even roasting.
- Use a meat thermometer to ensure the chicken is safely cooked to 165 °F (74 °C).
- Fig preserves add a natural sweetness that balances the tangy balsamic vinegar.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Roasting
- Cuisine: American