The Balaboosta Chef's Maple Apricot Chicken

Jenni Benerofe

INGREDIENTS:

Maple Apricot Sauce:

½ cup apricot preserves

⅓ cup Dijon mustard, stone ground mustard or a mix of both

¼ cup real maple syrup 3 cloves garlic,

finely minced

1 teaspoon Spanish smoked paprika

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Chicken:

3 pounds bone-in skin-on chicken thighs (or 6 pieces)

1 tablespoon olive oil

½ teaspoon kosher salt

fresh ground pepper

chives, minced for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS: Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place the top rack in the upper third of the oven.

Maple Apricot Sauce: Mix all ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

Chicken: Season the skin of the chicken generously with kosher salt and ground pepper. Place a cast iron pan on your stovetop and heat on high.

Arrange chicken in the pan skin side down and let sear undisturbed for 5 minutes or until skin is evenly golden browned.

Turn off heat and flip the chicken skin side up.

Pour the sauce over the top of the chicken and transfer to the preheated oven.

Roast for 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Transfer the chicken to a medium serving platter.

Pour the sauce over the chicken and garnish with chives before serving.

(NOTE: if you sub chicken breasts instead, keep the skin on but remove the bone and cook 5 minutes longer in the oven)

Jenni Benerofe is a New York-based culinary instructor, private chef, recipe tester and mom of two who is better known on Instagram as The Balaboosta Chef. She is also the founder of Happiness Jones Cookies. When she’s not teaching cooking classes or meal prepping for her clients, she can be found hiding in her kitchen pantry recording instastories while eating through her teenagers’ snacks and planning her next dinner party menu.