Tangerine Garlic Chicken

People sometimes ask me what we eat for dinner. They assume it’s only pasta every day. And that’s not far from the truth. There are some days we have fish and some days a stir-fry. The rest of the days there may be pizza or a really fun chicken dish. Like this Tangerine Garlic Chicken.

The rest of the evenings will probably include pasta. I don’t follow any specific recipes when I put together my sauces for the chicken. I sometimes open the fridge and see what sauce I have. I check out what jams I have around or citrus fruits. Most of the time I like to use our homemade mango jam with the soy sauce for a really great sticky sauce.

I was distracted by the gorgeous tangerines I had around and thought with a little garlic and honey, this will be incredible. It’s sort of a riff on how I make my whole roasted chicken. I occasionally add a little mustard to that sauce. You can really use your imagination and get creative.

HOW TO MAKE TANGERINE GARLIC GLAZE

To make tangerine garlic marinade, mix together honey, extra-virgin olive oil, paprika, salt and pepper.  You could make it spicy by adding a bit of chili powder. If you have time you could marinate the chicken for even an hour before baking it. Be sure to not marinate longer than an hour as the acid in the vinegar could make the meat not as tender if it is sitting in it for a long time.

But don’t forget the garlic because it really makes the dish and it smells incredible while it’s roasting. And what about on the side? With this chicken we had a very simple jasmine rice and a super delicious cauliflower salad. I hope to share that with you sometime next week. I add just a little bit of salt to the chicken. The soy and teriyaki add enough, in my opinion. But you could always use your judgement and add more if you prefer it a little more salty.

I knew my kids would have zero patience while I took a photo of this dish. I took a few when I added the tangerines and everyone was yelling at me to hurry up because they were hungry. See, that’s why I don’t usually post savory recipes. Those of you that do, I want to know your secret and how you keep your customers calm while they’re waiting for you. I sometimes add a little water to the sauce when I baste the chicken if it seems it’s getting too dry. My kids like to dip their bread in the sauce so there always has to be a little extra. The last photo was when it was done and it was very quick and there was more screaming, “Mom, hurry up!”. So here you go…a really delicious chicken recipe that is no fuss.

Chicken Thighs vs. Breasts:

We prefer chicken thighs for this recipe. But feel free to use chicken breasts just keeping in mind that they would be done in about 18-20 minutes.

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?

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slightly updated May 2013

Print Recipe

5 from 3 votes

Tangerine Garlic Chicken

Tangerine Garlic Chicken is no-fuss and just delicious! The most irresistible honey garlic and tangerine sauce and the best thing is hardly any clean up!

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time1 hr

Total Time1 hr 10 mins

Course: Dinner

Keyword: chicken, gluten-free

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 6 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
• 2 Tablespoons honey
• 2 Tablespoons tangerine juice or orange or lemon juice add more if you prefer stronger citrus flavor
• 3 tangerines peeled and separated in sections
• 4 large garlic cloves chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• In a small bowl combine soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, honey, tangerine juice and garlic. Preheat oven to 425F degrees. Arrange chicken pieces on a foil rimmed baking sheet skin side down. Sprinkle on the paprika. Drizzle chicken with olive oil and rub it around on both sides (this helps it from sticking to the pan). Sprinkle on the salt and pepper. Roast 30 minutes.
• Remove pan from oven and spoon glaze over the chicken. Add the tangerine slices around the chicken and the pan. Lower the temperature to 375F and using thongs, carefully turn the chicken skin side up.
• Bake until the internal temperature of the chicken reads 165F. Return to oven for another 20-25 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. *I check the chicken a couple times and baste it with the glaze. If it seems dry, you could add a little bit of water to the sauce (a Tablespoon at a time).

Notes

All images and text  ©Savoring Italy. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.

All images and text ©Savoring Italy