Date Glazed Orange Chicken – Sweet, Flavorful Recipe for
Orange-Marinated Roasted Chicken Glazed with Date Honey
A couple of weeks ago I posted a recipe for date honey syrup, known in the Middle East as silan. It’s a fantastic condiment that can add a ton of flavor to your cooking. Many of you asked for some recipe ideas incorporating date honey. This Date Glazed Orange Chicken is a delicious example of how date honey can take a dish from tasty to “holy wow, amazing!”
Dates and oranges go together like “peas and carrots,” as Forrest Gump would say. Here I’ve marinated chicken in freshly squeezed orange juice with hot sauce, mustard and thyme to give the chicken a depth of flavor. It’s not at all spicy; the hot sauce and mustard give the chicken a nice robust flavor, but it’s not overpowering. Then, during roasting, I basted the chicken with multiple layers of date honey to create a brown, bubbly, sticky skin. The combination of citrus, thyme and date flavors is truly unique, and the presentation with fresh orange rounds and thyme is so pretty. I’m thinking this would make a really fabulous Rosh Hashanah entree!
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Date Glazed Orange Chicken
Ingredients
- 6 large chicken pieces, bone in, skin on I prefer leg/thigh quarters
- 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
- 1/4 cup hot sauce
- 1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons mustard Dijon or yellow
- 2 teaspoons orange zest
- Salt and black pepper
- 1 bunch fresh thyme divided
- 3 large navel oranges divided
- 2/3 cup date honey syrup
NOTES
Instructions
- If using chicken leg quarters, I generally like to remove the "knuckle" end of the drumstick bone before cooking. It makes for a more elegant presentation on the dinner table. To do this, use a sharp chef's knife to carefully slice around the bottom knuckle of the bone, cutting through the skin and tendons. Then, grasp the cartilage area with a towel and pull strongly, twisting to remove it, and discard. FYI, this may take some practice and a bit of elbow grease. Be very careful with the knife when you are making the slice around the bone-- you don't want to slip!
- Whisk together orange juice, hot sauce, 3 tbsp olive oil, mustard, orange zest, 1/2 tsp salt and pinch of black pepper to form a marinade. Place chicken pieces into a plastic zipper bag or into a ceramic or glass dish. Pour marinade over the chicken and add 6-8 sprigs of thyme. Seal the bag (if using) or cover the dish with plastic wrap. Marinate in the refrigerator at least 3 hours, up to overnight.
- Preheat oven to 475 degrees F. Remove chicken from marinade and discard the excess marinade. Heat 1/2 cup olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium until hot but not smoking. Add the chicken pieces skin side down, three pieces at a time, and let them cook for 5-10 minutes until the skin is nicely browned. Remove from skillet and repeat with remaining 3 pieces. Remove the skillet from heat.
- Lightly grease a roasting pan or dish. Slice two of the large navel oranges into rounds and lay them on a single layer, covering the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle some thyme sprigs into the bottom of the roasting pan as well (reserve some for the final platter/garnish).
- Place the chicken back into the pan, skin side up. Brush each piece generously with date honey.Cover the pan tightly with foil and bake 45 minutes, basting the chicken every 15 minutes with more date honey.
- After 45 minutes the chicken should be cooked through and internal temperature should be at least 165 degrees F (I usually cook it to 170). If not, re-cover and continue to cook until it reaches temperature.Uncover the chicken. Baste once more with remaining date honey. increase heat to 500 degrees F and cook for 5-10 more minutes until the date glaze is bubbly and shiny. Keep a close eye to make sure the glaze doesn't burn, it contains a lot of natural sugar and will blacken if you're not careful.
- Slice up the remaining orange. Serve each piece of chicken garnished with a fresh orange slice and fresh thyme sprigs.
S Spie says
Can this dish be made with purchased date syrup? If so, would you alter the amounts?
Tori Avey says
S Spie – yes you can, and the amounts would be the same. Enjoy!
danielle says
Tori- i am thinking of some recipes for my upcoming chanukah menu. my mother has a mustard allergy, but this dish looks so delicious! Can i leave out the mustard? Or do you have a recommendations for a substitute? Thanks
Ashley at ToriAvey.com says
Hi Danielle, Tori’s assistant Ashley here! Unfortunately I wouldn’t suggest leaving out the mustard. I’ve read that some folks replace mustard with horseradish sauce or Worcestershire sauce in recipes, though I can’t say for sure how those flavors would work in this particular recipe. Sorry I can’t be of more help!
Beryl says
Hi Tori. Can this delicious sounding dish be prepared ahead and frozen?
Tori Avey says
Hi Beryl, I do not recommend freezing meat on the bone, so this would not be a good candidate as a make-ahead-and-freeze dish.
Miri says
Hello, i have a question about the hot sauce. Does it make the dish too spicy for children to eat or is it suitable for them and looses its “hotness” once cooked with the other ingredients of the marinade?
Looks fantastic by the way.
Tori Avey says
Hi Miri, the hot sauce doesn’t really add much spice, this recipe is more sweet than spicy. 🙂
Sharon says
Tori, I am a home health aide who works with the elderly, and am fortunate to be working with a 99 year old jewish woman. I’m going to make this for her on Christmas day ( I already made the honey-delightful!! ) I was thinking about roasted dill carrots and Kasha Varnishkes with mushrooms, that my step bubbe used to make for me. Would this menu work, or do you have any other suggestions. Thank you for your time and advice to a fellow Shiksa!!
Tori Avey says
Sharon it sounds like a wonderful menu! How lucky she is to have you. 🙂
Jenni says
One of my fave dishes has to be Porc au miel so this Chicken dish caught my attention straight away, especially with the oranges. It turned out very well, that honey makes it special and it looked just like your pictures – soooo tempting
Tori Avey says
Glad you enjoyed it Jenni! 🙂
Sharon says
Do you have to brown the pieces before roasting?
Tori Avey says
Sharon, if you want the skin to be brown, crisp and pretty like it is in the picture, then yes I do recommend browning first for best results.
Barbara Young says
Made the lazy girl’s version of this. Boiled the dates and then pureed them in the food processor with water. Recipe the followed as written. Still yummy!
Edna says
Can I do this in the crockpot??? If so, any modifications? This looks fabulous … I just need to cook while I’m at work before Yom Kippur fast.
Tori Avey says
Hi Edna, unfortunately I do not recommend making this in the slow cooker. The glaze will not have nearly the same appeal; it really needs a dry hot oven to turn out tasty.
Michelle says
Tori — it came out amazing. I can’t wait to taste it…it’s smells so very good! There was a lot of liquid in the pan, so when it came time to take off the cover, I took some of the liquid out and I’m reserving it to use as a gravy for later. I used the whole 10 minutes at the end and got a really perfect color on the chicken. I wish I could attach a picture!!
Tori Avey says
Fabulous Michelle! That glaze really does create a gorgeous color on the chicken. I feel like it’s the way date honey was meant to be used!
Michelle says
I’m making this as I type. It smells SO GOOD!!!
Tori Avey says
Fabulous Michelle! Let us know how it turns out. I’m making it for our holiday meal too. 🙂
Michelle says
I’m excited to make this chicken for Rosh HaShanah! How far in advance can I marinate the chicken? Can I do it today (Monday) to cook on Wednesday?
Tori Avey says
Yes!
Ann says
This recipe looks AMAZING- what’s your thoughts on using chicken breasts?? Do you think it’ll be dry??
Tori Avey says
I’m not a big fan of breasts personally, because as you say they can be dry. That said, if you use bone in, skin on you’ll have a better chance of a tasty result. You can start checking if they’ve come to temperature around 40 minutes (covered)– with breasts you run a greater risk of overcooking, so best to uncover them as soon as they get to food safe temperature for that final baste/browning. Good luck!
Rosa says
Thanks for the recipe, I am going to prepare it for Rosh Hashanah. One question, which kind of hot sauce do you use or recommend?
Tori Avey says
Any standard hot sauce is fine. I tested it with Tapatio, but if you have another favorite brand feel free to use.
Noo says
Thanks you for this great looking recipe I am going to try it for RH.
I bought some Silan a while ago and didn’t know what to do with it. Fabulous. thank you again. Now I need to look up your recipes with Harissa and Miso, as i bought that also and don’t know what to do with it.
Gail Sommers says
Looks wonderful. Can this be made a day or so ahead. Just pressed for time for the feasts and would be good if it will still be really good.
Tori Avey says
Hi Gail– the glaze is really best when freshly cooked. If it were me I would make this the day of and try making some other dishes ahead.
Margaret MacKenzie says
A new and intriguing recipe to add to my autumn repertiore. Thank you, Tori!
ARI says
LOOKS GOOD WILL MAKE
Bob Cortez says
Wow………that looks good………my chops are watering
Deborah Dolnick Alpert says
Sounds good