Diary of a Secret Housewife: Sriracha and Honey Glazed Chicken

It's Friday night, and you know what that means: time for another shabbat chicken recipe!  Inspired by an Amateur Gourmet post on cooking chicken under the broiler, I whipped up my own sriracha and honey glaze for a little indoor winter barbecue.

The result?  A little sweet, a little spicy, a lot shiny, and very delicious . . . just like me!  ;-)

This is a ridiculously simple recipe to improvise off of.  The Amateur Gourmet began with Elise's Honey Mint Glazed Chicken recipe, and the key thing to take away from that recipe is that you have to begin by marinating the chicken for at least a half hour in an acidic marinade.

I started with a 3 lb. chicken, cut into parts.  Elise's marinade uses 1/4 cup white vinegar and 1/4 olive oil.  I didn't have white vinegar on hand, so I used seasoned rice vinegar instead.  The sweeter, milder taste of the rice vinegar worked really well to give the chicken extra complexity.

Turn on the broiler.  Remove the chicken from the marinade and place, skin-side up, in a shallow roasting pan.  Season generously with salt and pepper.  Broil, about 5-8 inches from the heat source, for 30 to 40 minutes, turning every 7 or 8 minutes.

In the meantime, make your glaze.  I combined 1/2 cup of honey, a few squirts of sriracha (to taste), 1/4 cup of fresh tarragon, and 3 tablespoons of hot water.

For the last 5-10 minutes of cooking, baste all sides of the chicken with the glaze. The chicken is done when the juices run clear (not pink) when a knife tip is inserted into both the chicken breast and thigh, about 165°F for the breast and 180°F for the thigh.

The glaze and the chicken's juices will combine in the pan to create an awesome sauce.  Just pour all of the pan drippings into a fat separator (or a measuring cup), skim off the fat, and drizzle the sauce over the chicken when serving.

If you know what's what, retain half the sauce for yourself to eat with challah.

I served the chicken with fingerling potatoes, a la the Barefoot Contessa.  This recipe is so tasty, so foolproof, it's stoopid.

Melt two tablespoons unsalted butter in a dutch oven.  Add 1 1/4 lb. fingerling potatoes (whole, rinsed but not peeled) and season liberally with salt and pepper.  I added a handful of chopped sage at this point as well.

Once the potatoes brown, turn the heat down to low and cover the pot.  Cook for 20 to 30 minutes, until the potatoes are just tender when tested with a small knife. From time to time, shake the pot without removing the lid to prevent the bottom potatoes from burning. Turn off the heat and allow the potatoes to steam for another 5 minutes, taking care not to overcook.

Ina then tosses the potatoes with dill just before serving.  I didn't have dill, so I tossed in finely chopped tarragon and rosemary instead.

I know, you're thinking this seems too easy.  But I swear that the potatoes come out perfect: crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside, and so, so intensely flavorful from the browned butter, herbs, and salt.  It's so tasty that one might, if one were to have no shame (ahem, not that one would know one fitting such a description), use a few leftover bits of challah to mop up all the residual buttery goodness from the pan.

And then one might plop one's fat ass on the couch, vicariously burn calories by watching speedskating, and salivate dreaming of the next time one can think of an excuse to make these potatoes again.

What's your favorite potato recipe?  And what chicken dish should I try next week?