Friday, March 6, 2009

Oven Fried Chicken With Honey Butter Sauce



I'm really more of a baker. I think I'm made of flour, sugar and butter (which is why, I try to convince Sweetie-Pi, I melt in the rain. So far he hasn't bought it.)

I only occasionally eat red meat (with the exception of hamburg -- what I'm referring to is slab 'o beef) or fish. I could easily go my whole life without either one. I do, however, like chicken.

Ever meet someone who's like an angel on this earth? That would be someone like my friend, Kathye. Now there's a woman who is always on the go, involved in her community, volunteer activities, and friends and family. And to top it all off, she's a great cook with a generous heart and table. She shared this recipe that she discovered in Martha Dixon's Copper Kettle cook book.

Remember how I mentioned I don't particularly care for red meat? Well, Sweetie-Pi doesn't care all that much for chicken. But let me tell you, when I serve this, the yummy noises he makes are nonstop, and he keeps saying over and over again, "This is good! This is really, really good!"

Oven Fried Chicken with Honey Butter Sauce

1 tender frying chicken, cut up for frying
1 cup flour
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons paprika
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

1/4 cup melted butter (1/2 stick)
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup lemon juice

Dip chicken pieces into mixture of flour, salt, pepper, and paprika. Melt one stick butter in a shallow baking pan in a hot oven (400 degrees). Remove pan from oven. Arrange chicken in single layer in pan, turning to coat with butter. Bake skin-side down in a hot oven (400F) 30 minutes. Turn chicken.

Prepare the butter~honey sauce made by melting 1/4 cup butter in a saucepan and adding honey and lemon juice. Spoon sauce over chicken. Bake another 30 minutes or until fork-tender Spoon sauce over chicken during last 15 minutes of baking,
Yield: 4 servings.

There's only Sweetie-Pi and I, so a whole chicken would be way too much for us. I bought a package of three boneless, skiness chicken breasts, and divided the breasts. I reduced the ingredients by half, except for the sauce.

Because I'm a lazy cook, I combine all the coating ingredients into a large plastic bag and add the chicken and shake to distribute. (I don't like the feeling of raw chicken, what can I say?)

As the breasts are thinner than whole chicken parts, the cooking time is greatly reduced. I cooked the breasts for 20 minutes on one side, added the sauce, and cooked an additional 10-15 minutes or so.

One medium lemon should give you about 1/4 cup of lemon juice. When I made the sauce, I also tossed in a little lemon rind with the butter as it melted. I happen to love lemon and have a sour taste bud as well as a sweet one. The nice thing about the sauce, if you sample it, your taste buds will tell you if you want more lemon or more honey.

Tender, juicy. Honey sweet. Lemon tart. Beautiful to look at. As Sweetie-pi said, "This is good! This is really, really good!"

10 comments:

  1. I don't know about flour and butter, but you must be made out of sugar because you are so sweet!

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  2. My family is a fan of this recipe also Katy!
    Jam

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  3. Carrie, I was having kind of an off day and then I saw your lovely words. My flagging spirit perked right up, all fluffy and happy and smiling! And of course, right back at you!

    Jam, it'll be like sharing the same table with you, knowing that you and your family like this, too. It is so buttery, honeym, lemony good! I'm looking forward to the next time we have it LOL

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  4. I will be trying this out Katy...Sweetie-Pie is a lot like Grumpy. ;)

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  5. Kathi, you're too kind, with your sweet comments... Thank you! Kathye

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  6. HoneyB, when I read your blog and see how much Grumpy likes his beef and venison, I always think of Sweetie-Pi as he can be the same way. It's only with a big of cajoling that I can convince him to try something different. And then he's surprised because he likes it LOL Gotta love them, and we do don't we?

    Kathye, (blush), what you give comes right back to you!

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  7. I shake my chicken in a bag too! It doesn't make us lazy, it makes us incredibly clever =)

    This look delicious!

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  8. Katy thank you for posting this link on my blog! Im totally bookmarking and trying this!

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  9. Katy I fried the chicken breasts on the stove and basted them with the sauce..it was DELICIOUS!! great citrus flavor. Thank you for another wonderful recipe:)

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  10. Thank you for sharing this recipe Katy, I'm going to make it for dinner tonight (making a couple extra breasts for sammies tomorrow). I still think that Ole Sweetie Pie and my Hubby must be long lost brothers since their dining tastes are so similar lol. If Ole Sweetie Pie likes it, I'm sure Hubby will like it.

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