CHICKEN IN A POMEGRANATE CITRUS GLAZE

Well, I can not use a swear word here...so instead:  Holy Mother, Holy Mary, Merciful Heavens! I am not even religious at that. Please excuse my over zealous exclamations but, Dang! This was so delicious! I am going to double the recipe and make this with a Roasted Whole Chicken next weekend when we have company. This sauce was sweet, tart, salty, savory all in one go. This will definitely be one of those "special" dinners when company arrives . Mercy....I can't wait to see the faces of my son, daughter and their partners, when they dive into this.
We used 6 chicken thighs...DH ate four and I had two. Not a drop left - nope - and worth every inch of our full bellies.
By the way...DH said this dish was better than the post...no words can describe the incredible flavors.  Now that is a compliment worth tasting! 🙂
6 Free Range Chicken Thighs, skin on bone in
Olive oil
Spice rub:
1 tsp. Dried Italian Seasoning
1 tsp. Garlic Powder
1/4 tsp. dried ground Fennel
Salt and pepper
Pomegranate Citrus Glaze:
(made in the morning to save time)
Olive oil
1 Tblsp. butter
Peelings from 1/2 of an orange (just the peel, no white pith)
6 sage leaves roughly chopped
1 shallot roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves roughly chopped
1 cup of Pomegranate Juice
1/2 cup Chicken Stock
2 Tblsp. Tamari Sauce
Fresh cracked pepper
Cornstarch
Reserve an extra 1/2 cup of chicken stock at the end for the sauce
(the ingredients are roughly chopped, as they will be strained out later)
Note:  6 Tblsp. of the sauce/glaze will be used to slather on the chicken, save the remainder until the end of cooking time for the pan sauce.
In a medium sauce pan, add a drizzle of olive oil, the butter, on a low medium heat.  Add in the shallot, garlic, sage, orange peelings and fresh cracked pepper.  Saute about 5 minutes until the shallot is translucent.  Pour in the Pomegranate Juice, Chicken stock and Tamari Sauce.  Bring to a simmer, and simmer 20 minutes.
Mix up a cornstarch slurry with a bit of Chicken Stock, and slowly drizzle into the sauce, whisking well until thickened.  The sauce should be a little bit thicker than a gravy.  Strain through a sieve, discarding the solids.
Heat up a grill or frying pan on medium high heat.  To the chicken, drizzle a little olive oil over each thigh.  Liberally coat each chicken thigh with the spice rub, then add to the heated frying pan.  Brown the thighs, about 6 minutes, skin side down, then another 4 minutes on the other side.  While the chicken is browning, pre heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Add a Tablespoon of Glaze to each chicken thigh.
Place the pan in the preheated oven and bake for 45 minutes.  Remove from the oven and transfer the chicken to a platter.  To the pan, add in the extra 1/2 cup of chicken stock, and simmer on low heat, for 3 minutes.  Add the remaining Pomegranate Citrus Glaze to the pan, scraping up any brown bits, continue to simmer for 5 minutes.  Check for seasonings - salt and pepper then, pour over the chicken.
Serve with any side dishes...all I can say is Mercy....this was a piece of heaven on a plate:

Ina Gawne
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20 comments on “CHICKEN IN A POMEGRANATE CITRUS GLAZE”

  1. This looks indeed like a fantastic meal, Ina! I can believe your husband!
    I bet the house smelled amazing ! Yum!
    I am so going to make this tomorrow evening! Yeah!! 😉

  2. Will be making this in the near future for sure, Ina! You know how much I love pomegranate. I love the sweetness and caramelization factor it can add in savory dishes, too. Nice to read your and your hubby's "finger-lickin' good" review of this dish. 😉
    Shirley

  3. This looks yummy. Going to get a bottle of pomegranate juice and try this out. Also some tamari sauce. I've never heard of that so probably can't find it around here.

    1. Thanks Deb! Tamari Sauce is naturally fermented Soy Sauce that is Wheat Free. If you can tolerate regular Soy Sauce that would work too!

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February 6, 2012
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