Apricot-Mustard Glazed Chicken

Recently, I bought the Cook's Illustrated Light and Healthy 2010 magazine. I’ve had it for a few months but have yet to make a recipe from it. This is mostly because I have been feeling ill lately and have not felt like trying out a new recipe; I’ve just been sticking to easy recipes I’m familiar with.

Finally, I decided it was time to try a new entrée recipe. I wanted to use up the apricot preserves I had from the fresh fruit tartelettes I made awhile ago, and this recipe sounded perfect; it would allow me to use up the rest of the jar of preserves that has been in my refrigerator for months. The original recipe uses 4 chicken breasts, but since there are only 2 of us, I used 2 breasts. I kept the sauce amount the same because I figured I’d just glaze the heck out of the chicken as it grilled.

I was only able to eat about ¼ of my piece, and Mr. Surly ate the rest of it. He wasn’t feeling very hungry that night (probably due to the intense heat we’ve been experiencing) so he only ate the rest of my chicken along with some fresh corn on the cob and a baked sweet potato. He didn’t comment too much about the chicken that night, other than to mumble it was “pretty good.” However, the next night he reheated the other breast and could not stop raving about how good it was, both during and after his meal. Maybe the glaze had a chance to soak in the chicken as it sat in the refrigerator, I’m not sure. I thought the chicken was really good; the glaze kept the chicken moist and the preserves added a nice sweet flavor, setting it apart from other mustard glazes I’ve used on chicken. Next time I’ll try marinating the chicken in the glaze to see if that makes any difference in flavor.



Apricot-Mustard Glazed Chicken
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Serves 2-4

½ c apricot preserves
1 small shallot, minced
4 tsp whole grain mustard
4 tsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbl water
Salt and pepper to taste

Add all the ingredients to a food processor (or blender) and process til smooth. Adjust seasonings to taste, if necessary. Reserve ~¼ c glaze to set aside for serving.

Brush chicken breasts (I used 2, but the glaze will coat up to 4 chicken breasts) with ~1 tsp canola oil, then season with salt and pepper. Place chicken on preheated grill on high heat, and grill until both sides are well browned, ~5-7 min. Reduce heat to medium, and continue to cook, brushing each breast with the glaze. Continue to cook, flipping and brushing with glaze until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken, cover with a tin foil tent, allowing to rest 5 mins. Serve with reserved glaze.




Source: America’s Test Kitchen Light and Healthy 2010