Thursday, May 26, 2011

Glazed Chicken Legs

Funny how I have three recipes to share today and none of them are what I originally thought I would share.  I guess we should take inspiration where it comes, right?

Upon checking the menu this morning, I shuddered when I saw that chicken legs was supposed to be for lunch.  Ugh.  It was hot and I really wasn't in the mood to fry chicken legs for several minutes and then bake them in my already too hot house.  I decided to marinate the legs and bake them in my roaster oven-man do I love that thing!

To save myself dishes, I poured everything directly into a gallon sized ziploc bag.  And, of course I didn't measure, so these are rough estimates.  Before adding the chicken, taste it and add as your taste suits.
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 T. ketchup
1/2 tsp. onion powder
salt and pepper to taste (I would guess that I put in about a quarter tsp. of each)
1 clove garlic, minced-or 1 tsp of the jarred stuff

Once all the ingredients are in, close the bag and squish around to make sure everything is mixed.  Place your chicken pieces in the bag, squeeze as much air out as you can and close the bag.  Again, squish the sauce around the chicken and lay it flat in the fridge.  Every 20 minutes or so, flip the bag and squish randomly.  I'm not sure that there's a specific amount of time needed to marinate.  I let them sit for an hour or so and then placed them on a greased baking sheet.  You need one with edges so the juices don't run off into the oven.  I used a cookie sheet and it was fine.  Take the leftover marinade and put it in a bowl to use for basting.  Bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour, turning and basting every 15 minutes.  Normally I use a meat thermometer to check for doneness, but I couldn't find it, so I baked longer than I usually would.  Also, continue to bake a few minutes longer after the last basting to be sure that the marinade has come up to an appropriate temperature for food safety purposes.
The review--I thought it was wonderful.  I'm not a huge baked chicken fan, but these were very good.  They were tender and flavorful.  The only thing that I might have changed would be to fry them in coconut oil for a few minutes before baking to crisp up the skin.  But that's just me.  I LOVE crispy chicken skin!  The kids liked them also and everyone ate some, which is not always the case with chicken.

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