A low-and-slow, followed by a high-and-fast blast in the oven is my favorite way to cook chicken pieces, similar to another recipe I blogged about in the past. In this version the proportion of honey is quite a bit higher, forming a glaze that acquires a fantastic mahogany hue in the final roasting time. The meat underneath will be the way we love it: juicy and tender. The inspiration for this recipe came from the latest issue of Food and Wine magazine.
HONEY-GLAZED CHICKEN LEGS
(adapted from Food and Wine, May 2011)
1/4 cup + 1 tsp honey
2 Tbs + 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
2 Tbs soy sauce
salt and pepper to taste
4 chicken legs (or 8 chicken thighs)
Make the glaze by mixing all the honey, lemon juice, and soy sauce. Sprinkle the chicken legs with salt and pepper, then use a brush to cover them with the glaze. Place the chicken legs on a baking sheet, skin-side down, cover with aluminum foil, and slow roast at 325F for about 40 minutes. Flip the pieces to have the skin side up, brush some more of the glaze over, cover with aluminum foil again, and continue cooking for another 40-45 minutes. (If you want to finish the recipe later, place it in the fridge).
Increase the oven temperature to 425F, remove the aluminum foil and roast until the skin is dark brown, 10 to 15 minutes (a little longer if roasting from the fridge).
ENJOY!
to print the recipe, click here
Comments: Lots of recipes will have you roast poultry at a high temperature, but in my opinion, nothing compares to the “low and slow” approach. Not only the meat retains moisture, but it makes no mess in the oven, a huge bonus for neat-freaks such as myself. 😉
I like to prepare this type of recipe in two stages: the slow roasting on a lazy weekend afternoon, or a quiet evening. After that, the meat can go to the fridge for a day or two. When it’s time to enjoy it, just do the final, higher temperature roasting for 20 minutes. White rice, pasta, couscous, or just a salad and a piece of bread, and you are set for a wonderful dinner!
ONE YEAR AGO: French-Style Rolls
Bewitching Kitchen 
Yum! I’ve had a craving for chicken legs lately. This looks fantastic – especially that you can cook it in stages. That will help during our weeknight chaos! And I like that it’s a “neat and clean” way to cook chicken. I’m a neat freak too!
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You know, once I tried a very popular method (backed by a very famous and well known chef… 😉 to roast a whole chicken at 500F
Well, all smoke detectors started announcing their existence as loudly as possible, and the mess in the oven was unreal! And I did not think the chicken turned out that great…. go figure!
of course, never again! 😉
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These look amazing, I must make them this weekend. I loved your pea risotto, but I don’t think I can find pea shoots, unfortunately
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THe pea shoots add a lot of “drama” to the dish, but by all means, leave them out… the pea flavor from the puree is what makes this risotto so good…
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Well I must say those legs look rather delectable and I’m amazed you were able to achieve that grilling effect in the oven! I have a honey dijon chicken recipe that I make in the oven but I doesn’t come close to your gorgeous glaze (that would require me to stop using skinless chicken – aha!)
p.s. I’m a former neat freak who is learning to surrender to the chaos of a golden retriever 🙂
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Yeap, unfortunately without the skin it’s pretty tough to get that grilling type effect.
now, with two dogs, it’s hard not to surrender to the chaos, sometimes I think I’m married to the vacuum cleaner! It’s a daily routine on the rug because Oscar sheds quite a bit of fur. But, since he is impossibly cute, I don’t mind 😉
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How great are these! Must try them this week!
And I surrendered to the chaos long ago!
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Love the low and slow approach! That chicken looks fabulous!
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OH. MY. GOSH. That looks too good to even be in a magazine! yummm
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Eazy and delish 🙂 🙂 ‘ i used drumsticks’ slowly cooked in da oven and turned out great
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Made this recipe w/ chicken drumsticks wasn’t as great as I expected!
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THat’s too bad…. I gotta say, though I normally don’t have much luck with drumsticks – it is funny because the quality of the meat is not that different from the thighs, but I never get the same melt in your mouth “feel”, so I don’t even bother buying drumsticks anymore. If it’s the meat texture you did not care for, maybe you could give it a try with chicken thighs? But it it’s the overall taste, well… then I guess you should file it into the “disappointing” category…. sorry! 😉
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