Before we left on our trip, The Girl and I pulled out a hidden stash {we are sooo sneaky!} of goodies for the boys as well as made them a few things to eat while we are away… You know, so they don’t stave to death because they don’t know how to open a box of mac and cheese or peel a carrot.
I spotted this recipe for Maple – Soy Chicken thighs in a recent issue of Cooking Light magazine while I was at the dentist. And although I didn’t have all the ingredients the recipe called for, this chicken rocked! Plus, it made the kitchen smell good too.
Here is the recipe as I made it.
Easy Chicken Recipes | Maple Soy Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons dark olive oil
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 bone-in chicken thighs, skinned
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Combine the first 6 ingredients in a bowl and stir with a whisk.
- Place chicken thighs and maple mixture in a large zip baggie and zip closed.
- Marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Remove chicken from the bag, and place it on a lined baking sheet.
- Baste the chicken with 1 teaspoon of remaining marinade mixture and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Bake chicken at 375 for 25 minutes.
- Turn chicken over; baste with remaining 1 tablespoon of maple mixture and bake and additional 15 to 20 minutes or until the chicken is done.
- Serve with a side of rice.
Have you ever thumbed through a Cooking Light Annual recipe book before? Well, they are awesome. Each year they publish a book of all the recipes from the previous years magazines in one handy dandy book. The 2012 edition Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2012 is currently on sale for $22.71. Yay!
Debbie says
That looks so good! Have you ever tried freezing it at the marinating stage? How did it work… Or would you freeze it at a different stage? Thanks again for another awesome recipe! 🙂
Jennifer says
Omg–made this per instructions (except I forgot the salt and pepper) and it wasn’t so exciting. Chicken poured juices and kinda made a watered down braising situation… But THEN I made it again the same week, using boneless skinless thigh cut into strips. I marinated and then cooked it stovetop (I messed up and added the S&P to the marinade). OMG!!! Crazy good. I recommend boneless meat for this method as the sugars were starting to caramelize by the time the meat was done. Longer would have started burning. Then I cooked the marinade separately (to kill germies) and added a bit of cornstarch/water. Freaking awesome!!!!
Jennifer says
AND THEN!… I made it again with whole (not marinated) chicken thighs cooked on the stovetop until done. Then I braised them in some stock for another 20-30min until almost falling apart tender. I cooked the marinade with a little cornstarch slurry and poured it atop each piece as I plated. Still great.