Holy Yum Chicken

Overview

  • Yield: 4 servings
  • Prep Time: 5 mins
  • Cook Time: 40 mins
  • Total Time: 45 mins

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 - 2 pounds boneless skinless, chicken thighs (most of the fat cut and discarded)

  • 1/2 cup Dijon mustard (must be Dijon mustard, no substitutes)

  • 1/4 cup pure maple syrup (again, no substitutes. No fake Aunt Jemima stuff)

  • 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar, seasoned or unseasoned

  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch

  • 2 teaspoon fresh rosemary for garnish

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 8x8" oven-proof pan with 2 layers of tin foil.

  2. In small bowl, whisk together Dijon mustard, maple syrup, rice wine vinegar, salt and pepper.

  3. Place the chicken thighs in the foil layered pan then pour the mixture on top of it. Turn the chicken around in the sauce to make sure it gets all coated.

  4. Bake, uncovered, for 40 minutes.

  5. Remove from oven and let chicken sit for 5 minutes then transfer to a plate. Do NOT discard the liquid.

  6. Immediately after plating chicken, whisk in the 1 tbsp. of cornstarch into the liquid in the pan. You'll create a nice, thick sauce to drizzle over your chicken. You need to do cornstarch mixing immediately because the liquid needs to be hot in order for it to thicken properly. If it's still not thickening after 1 tbsp., you can add a little more.

  7. Sprinkle rosemary on top before serving.

Notes

  • If you like things more tangy, add 2 tbsp. of rice wine vinegar instead of 1 tbsp. Gives a tangy kick with the sweetness that subdued it. If you like things on the sweeter side, keep it to 1 tbsp. of rice wine vinegar. Regardless, taste the sauce after mixing it together and adjust to taste.

  • If making paleo: use regular white vinegar and sub arrowroot powder for cornstarch

  1. If you don’t like mustard, you likely will not like this dish. 1/2 the recipe’s ingredient is mustard.

  2. It will taste mustardy with a nice hint of sweetness! So again, if you don’t like mustard, don’t make this.

  3. If you don’t follow directions and want to improvise, that is definitely ok! But please do not come back to yell at me for a failed dish. The instructions are laid out completely below because I have tested it myself and it works the way it’s written below.

  4. If you do not use the right equipment it will likely not turn out either. 8×8″ pan means 8×8″ pan. 2 layers of foil means 2 layers of foil. Why? 8×8″ pan will keep the sauce together and compact and won’t cause it to spread out over a large surface area. If you put it in a larger pan, it will spread, therefore, causing the sauce to get cooked off and you’ll end up with dry chicken and little to no sauce. Double layering the foil insulates the sauces and the chicken, it’ll keep the sauce from burning on the scalding hot pan.

  5. Yes, it really is cooked at 450 degrees Fahrenheit. I’m not going to lie to you. Yes, it’s very high but it also works (proof: above pictures!) :)

  6. If you’re using chicken breasts, reduce cooking time to 25-30 minutes or you’ll end up with dry chicken.

  7. You may use bone-in chicken thighs. Cooking time is the same.

  8. Whole grain mustard is not the same as Dijon mustard.

  9. Rice wine vinegar and rice vinegar are the same thing. The names are interchangeable.

  10. If you can’t find unseasoned rice wine vinegar, you may use seasoned rice wine vinegar and vice versa.

  11. You can definitely use regular white vinegar or apple cider vinegar or champagne vinegar if that’s all you have on hand.

References and Acknowledgments

Table for Two - Holy Yum Chicken