Amidst all the hullabaloo around tomorrow, I decided to take a break from All Things Turkey and make something completely different.

I made Sweet and Sticky Pomegranate Chicken with Basmati Rice for dinner tonight.

Mouthful o’ Goodness

Now – I gotta be honest with you. I misread the recipe. I thought the recipe called for 4 pounds of chicken.

No. It served four PEOPLE. It called for *2lbs*.

Whoopsies.

Luckily I had enough of the other stuff to double the recipe.

Do not worry. C enjoyed mocking me. A lot. *joy*

Oh – be aware that this recipe has QUITE the kick to it. We decided to reduce the sauce after the pan came outta the oven and at first you’re like, Wow! This is really goo- HOLY CRAP! That’s quite a KICK. Yowsa!!

Now, the sauce doesn’t have enough of a kick to need to guzzle a whole bucket of water, but it’s DEFINITELY too spicy to feed C’s 92 year old grandmother that joined us for dinner tonight.

Spicy, Sticky, just a touch Sweet

Luckily the spice wasn’t too strong on the chicken itself, just the skin, so I was still able to peel some meat off and feed it to the babies…not that R ate anything tonight. Some nights are like that. *sigh*

A whole PILE of chicken happiness

Sweet and Sticky Pomegranate Chicken from How Sweet It Is

Printable Recipe HERE

Dairy-FREE, Gluten-FREE

Ingredients:

2 pounds Chicken wings or legs **I used Chicken Quarters…The frozen kind you buy in a 4lb bag from BJs or Costco or something.
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Pepper
1/2 cup Sweet Chili Sauce  **When I doubled the recipe it was a lotta spicy for us. I’d recommend using HALF.
1/3 cup Pomegranate Juice  **Damn this stuff is expensive!
1/4 cup Rice Wine Vinegar
3 Tablespoons Brown Sugar  **I used Dark Brown.
1/2 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
1 Lime, juiced
3 Garlic cloves, minced or pressed
Pomegranate arils for garnish
Freshly chopped parsley for garnish

How To:

1- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large measuring cup or bowl, mix together chili sauce, pom juice, soy sauce, vinegar, lime juice, brown sugar and garlic.

2- Heat a large oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat and add olive oil. Season chicken with salt and pepper, then place in the skillet and sear on each side until deeply golden and brown, about 2 minutes per side. **HA. Chicken took longer to brown. It always does.

3- Remove chicken and place on a plate, turning heat in the skillet down to medium-low. Pour in pomegranate juice mix and whisk, allowing the sauce to bubble and simmer for 1-2 minutes. Place chicken back in the skillet and turn and toss to coat. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove chicken and serve with chopped parsley and pomegranate arils. **Chicken NEVER only takes 20-25 minutes, regardless of what the recipe says. It ALWAYS seems to take at least 45 minutes. Also, C wanted it to get dark and be all crispy, so we put the pan under the broiler for a few minutes. Like 5. Now, the chicken wasn’t like touching the broiler or anything, it was in the upper third of the oven. It came out goooooood!

4- If you want to serve the sauce over the top of everything, like gravy, you’ll need to reduce it a little. We simply took the chicken outta the pan, tented with foil to keep a little warm, then put the pan over a couple of burners on the stovetop. Brought it to a boil and let it reduce to about half.

Sauce reducing away on the stove

My Mother-in-law said NEXT TIME I make this recipe – those little words make me so happy! – I should use half the spice and maybe add more chicken.

EXCELLENT.

Oh, and I served this over some Basmati rice made with stock instead of water.

This is what it looked like:

Pretty little sprinkle of parsley on top

Random extra photo:

Yeah, this was a 2 bottle dinner. *grin*