Lacquered chicken

Name: Lacquered chicken
Total time: 3600 s
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 4 chicken quarters, bone-in and skin-on (or equivalent pieces); 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar; 1/3 cup dark cola (Coke or Pepsi); 1 small shallot, halved; Handful fresh mint leaves

Robert Gonzal @robert

Vancouver BC

This recipe is a little controversial, at least in my family. The reason being, when I made it I used root beer. As the root beer cooked down, its aromatics combined with the balsamic and mint to fill the house with a smell that my wife described as "super-mediciney." I honestly didn't mind it, and the dish still turned out great. The chicken was moist, with beautifully glisteny skin that was a little tangy and a little sweet. Still, because of my wife's complaint, I swapped out the root beer for plain cola in the recipe below. This should hopefully prevent your house from smelling like a turn-of-the-20th century apothecary*. More important than the cola, though, is to make sure you dry brine the chicken, to get maximum flavour and moisture into the meat.

*I'm only guessing what a turn-of-the-20th century apothecary smells like. I'm not that old.

Robert Gonzal @robert

Vancouver BC

*I'm only guessing what a turn-of-the-20th century apothecary smells like. I'm not that old.

Saved

Ingredients

1 hr

4 servings

4chicken quarters, bone-in and skin-on (or equivalent pieces)
1/2 cupbalsamic vinegar
1/3 cupdark cola (Coke or Pepsi)
1small shallot, halved
Handfulfresh mint leaves

Saved

Steps

1 hr

1

Preferably the night before, season the chicken well with salt. Leave it uncovered overnight in the fridge, someplace where it can't touch and contaminate anything.
2

Add the remaining ingredients to a small saucepan, along with a good pinch of salt. Put it on medium heat and let it reduce until there's only about 1/2 cup of syrupy liquid left. Stir in 1 tbsp unsalted butter and turn the heat to minimum so it stays warm and loose.
3

While you wait for the glaze, preheat your oven to 375F and prep the chicken. Season the quarters with freshly cracked black pepper and lay them in a cold, medium pan. Put the pan on medium heat. You're not trying to fry the chicken here, but rather gently render out the fat, get a base colour, and cook the meat about 1/4 of the way. After about 10 minutes, flip the chicken over and cook another 10 minutes. Remove the quarters to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
4

Making sure that the presentation side of the chicken is facing up, brush on the first coat of glaze and put the tray in the oven. Bake for about 30 minutes, reapplying the glaze every 6 to 8 minutes. The skin should become darker and glossier with each application. Once the internal temperature of the quarters reaches 170F, they're done.