I have always felt that it takes a certain amount of gumption and commitment to call something the "World's Best" anything, especially when it comes to food.
After all . . . taste is very subjective. Its dependant on your culture, and where you come from, and yes . . . individual preferences and taste. I tend to be somewhat dubious when it comes to labelling something as the "World's Best."
One man's meat can indeed be another man's poison. I am intrigued however most of the time as to what any one person perceives as being the "World's Best." I am a chicken aficionado however, and when I saw this recipe on Aunt Bee's Recipes, I needed to try it out for myself.
I did make a few changes however and I know . . . shouldn't do that, but I can't help myself. Stay with me on this . . .
She recommended using boneless, skinless chicken breasts. I would never use that cut of chicken for a recipe like this. For one thing, the long cook time required to thicken the sauce and coat the chicken would have those chicken breasts well dried out, and we all know how unappealing over-cooked dried chicken breasts are, no matter how delicious the sauce coating them is.
So the first thing I did was to change out the cut of chicken used. I used bone in, skin on chicken thighs. For one thing the meat is more succulent and lends itself perfectly to long cooking . . . with the end result being something tender and yes, finger licking tasty.
You can always take the skin off and discard it after cooking if you don't want the fat and calories. I turned the chicken every fifteen minutes during it's cook time, which gave both the top and bottom bits ample time to cook in and soak up those flavours of that sticky, sweet, sour, delicious coating.
Secondly, the sauce didn't really thicken up overly much with the thighs, probably because they have more natural juices than chicken breasts, but from where I was standing, this actually worked to my advantage.
That meant my chicken wasn't dry. I poured the sauce off after cooking, and then skimmed any fat off of it and then boiled it for a few minutes to really thicken it up and then passed it at the table for anyone who wanted extra sauce. Worked very well that way, and yes it was very delicious!
I also actually made my own from scratch Creole seasoning mix. I like making my own spice blends, but you can certainly use a store brand if you like. I served it simply with a vegetable fried rice.
Yield: 4Author: Marie Rayner
World's Best Baked Chicken
prep time: 10 minscook time: 1 hourtotal time: 1 hours and 10 minsSweet and hot and finger licking good. Do be sure to line your baking dish with a double sheet of foil.ingredients:
8 bone in, skin on chicken thighsbutter for greasing pan60ml pure maple syrup (1/4 cup)2 TBS cider vinegar1 TBS dry mustard powder1 tsp minced garlic1 tsp Creole seasoning (see below)1/2 tsp salt1/2 tsp black pepper To make your own Creole Seasoning:4 tsp cayenne pepper4 tsp garlic powder4 tsp black pepper2 tsp onion powder2 tsp ground mustard powder1 tsp sweet paprika3 TBS salt
instructions:
For the creole seasoning, mix all together well and then place in an airtight covered container. Store in a dark place.Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Line
your baking dish with a double layer of boil, buttering the last layer.
Lay the chicken thighs out in the pan.
Whisk
together all the remaining ingredients. Pour over the chicken. Bake
for one hour, turning the chicken every fifteen minutes, until the
chicken is tender and nicely glazed. Serve hot with your favorite
sides.
Created using The Recipes Generator
This was indeed very delicious chicken when done the way I did it. The meat was succulent and tender and the sticky coating and sauce were finger-licking tasty tasty! In short, worthy of high accolades . . . but then again, next week, I might think something else is the world's best. For this week and on this day, this was indeed the "World's Best, " for us at any rate! Bon Appetit!
