Herbed cranberry chicken is an elegant dish that can be served for a dinner party and/or for a date night in! Minimal effort but loads of earthy flavor!
6large or 8-9 medium bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
1teaspoondried thyme
1teaspoonblack pepper
½teaspoonsalt
4clovesgarlicminced
2tablespoons(28g)salted butter
For the rest of the dish:
5clovesgarlic,chopped
4sprigs of rosemaryleaves chopped
¼cup(59g)chicken broth(6 tablespoons broth if you’re using fresh cranberries)
2tablespoonscoconut aminos(can sub soy sauce or gluten-free tamari, ideally reduced sodium)
1tablespoonbalsamic vinegar
1tablespoonhoney(can use 2 tablespoons honey if using soy sauce)
1teaspoonlemon juice
1 ½cups(150g)frozen fresh cranberries(can sub fresh)
Slices of lemon
Sprigs of rosemary
Instructions
Combine the thyme, pepper, salt, and minced garlic together. Toss your chicken thighs in this mixture.
Preheat your oven to 400 °F (204 °C). In a large skillet, heat the butter over medium-high heat. Once melted and very hot, carefully place the chicken thighs in the pan, one at a time, skin side down. After adding each thigh, wait 10 seconds or so before adding the next thigh - this will make sure the butter stays hot enough to sear the thighs. In order to get super crispy skin, it’s very important to not move the thighs around after you place them in the pan.
Allow the thighs to sear skin side down for 7-10 minutes (you can reduce the heat down to medium if the butter starts to burn). Carefully attempt to flip one of the thighs over using a pair of tongs. If the chicken flips over easily, the skin is crispy enough and you can flip them over. If the skin is sticking to the pan, wait an additional minute and try again. Repeat with the remaining thighs until they are all skin side up.
Scatter the chopped garlic and half of the chopped rosemary all over the chicken in the pan. Continue searing on the other side for an additional 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle the cranberries around the chicken. Combine the chicken broth, coconut aminos, balsamic vinegar, honey and lemon juice and pour the mixture into the pan around the thighs. Top the chicken with the remaining chopped rosemary and place the rosemary sprigs in the pan.
Place the pan into the oven and roast for 20-30 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the largest thigh reaches at least 165 °F (74 °C). Garnish with lemon slices and a sprinkle of salt and pepper prior to serving.
Notes
Chicken thighs can really vary in thickness and size. My thighs were very large and 6 of them weighed almost 3 pounds. If you are using smaller thighs, aim for 8-9, or a total of 2.75-3 pounds.We used a very large pan for this, a 12-inch stainless skillet with straight sides.This is the brand coconut aminos I used for the recipe - http://www.bigtreefarms.com/coco-aminos-1 . It’s my favorite because it’s thick and more salty and sweet than other varieties, but any brand will work.In lieu of coconut aminos, you can use soy sauce or gluten-free tamari (ideally lower sodium), but I recommend adding maybe an additional tablespoon of honey. If using coconut aminos, you may want to add a sprinkle of salt to the dish at the end depending on your personal taste.Minimum internal temperature of chicken is 165 degrees Fahrenheit, but for thighs I often like them to be around 175 degrees.