Sweet and Tangy Oven-Barbecued Chicken for Two
By America's Test KitchenPublished on October 14, 2011
Time
50 minutes
Yield
Serves 2
Ingredients
Before You Begin
Real maple syrup is preferable to imitation syrup, and "mild" or "original" molasses is preferable to darker, more bitter types. If you are content to use bottled barbecue sauce, we had the best luck with Bull's-Eye Original, winner of our taste-test. Use 1 cup of sauce and, in step 2, reduce the sauce cooking time from 4 minutes to 2 minutes.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position, about 5 inches from upper heating element; heat oven to 325 degrees. Whisk ketchup, onion, Worcestershire, mustard, molasses, maple syrup, vinegar, chili powder, and cayenne in small bowl; set aside. Season chicken with salt and pepper.
- Heat oil in heavy-bottomed, nonreactive, 10-inch ovenproof skillet over high heat until beginning to smoke. Brown chicken skinned-side down until very light golden, 1 to 2 minutes; using tongs, turn chicken and brown until very light golden on second side, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to plate and set aside.
- Discard fat in skillet; off heat, add sauce mixture and, using a wooden spoon, scrape up browned bits on bottom of skillet. Simmer sauce over medium heat, stirring frequently with heatproof spatula, until sauce is thick and glossy, and spatula leaves clear trail in sauce, about 1 to 3 minutes. Off heat, return chicken to skillet, and turn to coat thickly with sauce; set chicken pieces skinned-side up and spoon extra sauce over each piece to create thick coating.
- Place skillet in oven and cook until thickest parts of chicken breasts register 130 degrees on instant-read thermometer, 8 to 12 minutes. Set oven to broil and continue to cook until thickest parts of chicken breasts register 160 degrees, 5 to 10 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to platter and let rest 5 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk to combine sauce in skillet and transfer to small bowl. Serve chicken, passing extra sauce separately.
Time
50 minutesYield
Serves 2Ingredients
Ingredients
Ingredients
Why This Recipe Works
Setting out to find an oven-barbecued chicken recipe that would give us juicy, tender, and evenly cooked chicken, we found that mild-tasting boneless, skinless chicken breasts made the perfect backdrop for our Kansas City–style sauce. We lightly seared the breasts in a skillet, removed them from the pan, and then made the simple barbecue sauce right in the same pan. To finish, we returned the chicken to the pan, placed it in the oven to finish cooking, and then turned on the broiler to lightly caramelize the sauce.
Before You Begin
Real maple syrup is preferable to imitation syrup, and "mild" or "original" molasses is preferable to darker, more bitter types. If you are content to use bottled barbecue sauce, we had the best luck with Bull's-Eye Original, winner of our taste-test. Use 1 cup of sauce and, in step 2, reduce the sauce cooking time from 4 minutes to 2 minutes.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position, about 5 inches from upper heating element; heat oven to 325 degrees. Whisk ketchup, onion, Worcestershire, mustard, molasses, maple syrup, vinegar, chili powder, and cayenne in small bowl; set aside. Season chicken with salt and pepper.
- Heat oil in heavy-bottomed, nonreactive, 10-inch ovenproof skillet over high heat until beginning to smoke. Brown chicken skinned-side down until very light golden, 1 to 2 minutes; using tongs, turn chicken and brown until very light golden on second side, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to plate and set aside.
- Discard fat in skillet; off heat, add sauce mixture and, using a wooden spoon, scrape up browned bits on bottom of skillet. Simmer sauce over medium heat, stirring frequently with heatproof spatula, until sauce is thick and glossy, and spatula leaves clear trail in sauce, about 1 to 3 minutes. Off heat, return chicken to skillet, and turn to coat thickly with sauce; set chicken pieces skinned-side up and spoon extra sauce over each piece to create thick coating.
- Place skillet in oven and cook until thickest parts of chicken breasts register 130 degrees on instant-read thermometer, 8 to 12 minutes. Set oven to broil and continue to cook until thickest parts of chicken breasts register 160 degrees, 5 to 10 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to platter and let rest 5 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk to combine sauce in skillet and transfer to small bowl. Serve chicken, passing extra sauce separately.
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