Chicken thighs are not a cut I usually use for cooking, but there are so many great-looking recipes out there, including this Maple-Balsamic Chicken. After a little manipulating, I pared down the ingredients to make it a dish for two.
I’ve not made this kind of sauce before, but it looked very interesting with the maple, balsamic, and peanut butter! Wait, peanut butter…what?
It’s used to thicken the sauce as well as gives it a nice, almost Thai slant. It's delicious!
My mistake on this dish was to get bone-in chicken thighs and I had to remove the bone. Ick.
It wasn’t fun and the poor thighs looked a little more ragged than they were supposed to be after I got through hacking the bone out.
It's less expensive, but I’m not sure it’s worth the trouble. Next time I’ll buy skinned, already boned thighs. Definitely.
Oh, and just a side note. In Texas, thick dark Log Cabin syrup is considered pancake syrup, but apparently the rest of the world prefers maple syrup.
Maple-Balsamic Chicken calls for maple syrup, so I bit the bullet and bought some (it’s more expensive than my Texas syrup, by the way).
After tasting it I can definitely see why people like it on their pancakes but, although I may be a Texas syrup to maple syrup convert, you’ll never pry that Texas Whataburger out of my chubby little hands.
Maple-Balsamic Chicken for Two
Tender and flavorful with a great brown sauce.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 skinned, , boned chicken thighs
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 7 oz chicken broth
- 2 ½ tablespoon maple syrup
- 2 ½ teaspoon balsamic vinegar
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon ground red pepper or red pepper flakes
- 1 ½ tablespoon peanut butter
Instructions
- Heat a large nonstick skillet on medium with the olive oil.
- Sprinkle the chicken evenly on both sides with the salt, paprika, and thyme. Cook chicken in hot olive oil over medium-high heat 2 to 3 minutes on each side until golden brown.
- Stir in chicken broth, syrup, vinegar, black pepper and red pepper, and bring to a boil. Turn down heat to low, cover the skillet and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove chicken and keep warm.
- Whisk the peanut butter into the skillet liquid and simmer over medium heat, uncovered, for about 5 minutes until sauce is thickened a bit. Spoon sauce over chicken and serve.
Notes
Tips and Stuff:
Definitely get pre-boned chicken thighs!
Although it's not real spicy, you can leave out the red pepper/red pepper flakes if you don't prefer that kick.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 2 Serving Size: 1 servingAmount Per Serving: Calories: 771Total Fat: 49gSaturated Fat: 13gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 35gCholesterol: 335mgSodium: 1501mgCarbohydrates: 23gFiber: 1gSugar: 18gProtein: 65g
Nutrition Values are Approximate
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