Thursday, December 5, 2013

Pomegranate Glazed Chicken


This dish just sings of Christmas. The pomegranate arils sprinkled on the glazed chicken look like dark red berries and the parsley garnish resemble holly leaves. Subtly sweet, slightly tart pomegranate juice with just a touch of fruitiness compliment the smoky garnet-colored glaze on the chicken and the arils add a nice touch of crunchiness.

Speaking of pomegranate arils (seeds) – I think of them as pesky little things that are very difficult to remove from pomegranates and are messy to boot. If you know me well, you know that I do not like messy. To solve the problem, I’ve been buying the arils in a little jar at the supermarket. But now my friend Chris at The Café Sucre Farine has come up with an amazing super easy, step-by-step method of removing pomegranate seeds in less than a minute, no fuss, and no water that you must try, link here.  Problem with pomegranate seeds solved.


Believe it or not, the chicken was grilled indoors on a stove-top grill. Just imagine the smoky flavor and grill marks you would get if you did it outdoors on a charcoal or gas grill. We do what I call “faux-grill” on the stovetop on a grill pan from All Clad, commonly known in our house as “Giada’s grill pan,” because it’s similar to the one she uses on her cooking show. It does a very nice job if you don’t have an outdoor grill.

If you plan to grill this recipe outside on a charcoal or gas grill, I recommend that you use a whole chicken, cut into parts, in place of the breasts. The original recipe called for a whole cut-up chicken and I’ve included the instructions in the recipe below. If you are as big a sauce lover as we are, I would probably double it if I was preparing a whole cut-up chicken instead of four breasts. If there’s too much sauce, you don’t have to use it all. More often than not we say, “I wish we had more sauce.”

This is a beautiful dish and is perfect for holiday entertaining.


Pomegranate Glazed Chicken
Adapted from Rick Rodger’s New Flavors for Chicken for Williams Sonoma, serves 4

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 large shallot, peeled & minced
¾ cup bottled pomegranate juice
¾ cup hearty red wine
¼ cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon cold water
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, about 1 ½ pounds (instructions for whole cut-up chicken below)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Canola oil for grilling
1/3 cup fresh pomegranate arils (seeds)
Fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves for garnish

In a nonreactive saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the shallot and garlic and sauté until they are softened, taking care not to burn the garlic, for about 2 minutes. Stir in the pomegranate juice, wine, and sugar, raise the heat to high, and bring to a boil. Cook until reduced to half, about 10 minutes. When the pomegranate sauce has reduced, in a small bowl, mix the cornstarch and cold water. Stir the cornstarch mixture into the pomegranate sauce and cook just until thickened, about 10 seconds. Transfer the sauce to a small bowl and let cool.

Trim away any excess fat from the chicken breasts, then brush them with the olive oil. In a small bowl stir together the oregano, cumin, 2 teaspoons of salt and ½ teaspoon of pepper. Season the chicken with the oregano mixture and let stand at room temperature while the grill heats.

If you are using a stovetop grill, heat to medium high. If you are cooking the chicken on a charcoal or gas grill, follow the instructions below for grilling. Grill the chicken, turning occasionally. Just before the internal temperature reaches 155 degrees, baste both sides of the chicken and continue to turn until the internal temperature is 165 degrees and the chicken is nicely glazed. Transfer to a warmed platter, drizzle with any remaining sauce, sprinkle the pomegranate seeds over the chicken, garnish with the parsley, and serve right away.

Instructions for grilling a whole, cutup chicken:

Prepare the sauce as instructed above and let it cool. Cut the chicken into pieces, and brush with the olive oil and seasonings as instructed above. Prepare a charcoal or gas grill for indirect-heat cooking over high heat. Replace the grill grate and brush it with canola oil. Place the chicken skin-side down, on the cool side of the grill. Cover the grill and cook the chicken for 20 minutes. Turn the chicken over and continue to cook, covered, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the breast meat registers 165 degrees F, about 15 minutes longer. Brush the skin side of the chicken with half of the pomegranate mixture and move, skin side down, to the hot side of the grill. Grill uncovered, turning occasionally and basting the other side with the remaining pomegranate mixture, until the chicken is glazed, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a warmed platter, drizzle with some sauce, sprinkle the pomegranate seeds over the chicken, garnish with the parsley, and serve right away.



This will be shared with Foodie Friday at Rattlebridge Farm, Miz Helen’s Country Kitchen Full Plate Thursday, Foodie Friday at Simple Recipes, and Seasonal Sunday at the Tablescaper.

Have a great weekend everyone.


36 comments:

  1. Picture perfect and sounding delicious! I'm off to check on the easy way to de-aril a pomegranate. I've been purchasing the jarred ones too and they are a bit pricey.

    Best,
    Bonnie

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  2. That looks beautiful and sounds wonderful Sam. Thanks for the link to de-seeding the poms! I am going to try that!

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  3. Perfectly cooked and delicious! I love this combination.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  4. So festive Sam..Love the combination of chicken and poms..the cumin must add such interest too..

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  5. Wow oh, WOW, Sam! This looks heavenly. I never think of cooking with pomegranates, but this looks so good that I might have to give it a whirl! I always love to see what you are cooking!

    xo

    Sheila

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  6. What a beautiful dish. This is a perfect entree for Christmas. Thanks for pointing the way to the pomegranate seeding. A genius recipe Sam.

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  7. This is stunning, and perfect for Christmas --- who needs turkey or ham?

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  8. Sam, We are always looking for a new recipe for chicken...and this one looks pretty darn good! Thanks and Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

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  9. That does look like a very pretty and tasty chicken dish! I looked at your other recipes – so many cranberry ways – do you know that I had never tasted cranberries until I came to this country? now I love them. I tried to make some cakes last year with cranberries and am going to try again this year.

    The cassis chocolate cake is the one that I truly would like to taste. I have always loved cassis – my mother had several bushes in her backyard and used to make cassis jam and liquor. I don’t know why they don’t have cassis here – would love to eat some cassis sorbet. Anyway when I go to France I always come back with a couple of bottles of Cassis de Dijon, Lejay-Lagoute, bien sur! Did you know that they invented the cream of cassis in 1841? Look at their site (in French) http://www.lejay-lagoute.com/.

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  10. Sorry - I went back and you can click on the English in the Lejay-Lagoute site.

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  11. looks delicious Sam and as a big fan of Pomegranate, I know Bev would be especially found of this. Your right about it looking like Christmas.

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  12. I had a salad with pomegranate today...but nothing compared with this flavourful and delicious glazed chicken. Mouthwatering photos, Sam.

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  13. I love that pomegranate technique! I don't buy them often because I hate trying to get the seeds out! I'm going to get some this weekend and try it out!

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  14. Boy this looks good Sam! The pomegranate adds such great color and I agree it looks kind of Christmasy:@)

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  15. Oh my gosh how beautiful is this!

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  16. looks so good and eager to use pomegranate more

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  17. My mouth is watering! I wonder how this would work on pork tenderloin?

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  18. Incredible! I can't wait to get to the store to buy a pomegranate. And, this dish sounds so good - and it is gorgeous. I was spinning my wheels to think of something interesting and easy to prepare for company next weekend, and I do believe this is it.

    Thanks, Sam.

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  19. I love this recipe, Sam! Not only fabulous flavors but the presentation is nothing short of perfection. The colors...so vivid. Really like the cumin and oregano in the dish.

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  20. wow, finger licking good!
    actually i used to made a sauce fron the juice too, then i save the seed for making my own anardana powder...
    it's got a nice tangy flavour!

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  21. We eat chicken again and again and again, so I very much look forward to trying your recipe.

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  22. Hi Sam, This looks delicious. I want to try my hand at your recipe. This sounds and looks like one of those dishes you could impress the kids and hubby with. Thanks for the link to learn a quick and easy way to get the arils out. My grandmother had a huge tree and the grandkids had a ball playing with them.

    I recognize one of the market vendors in your picture from St Remy. When I was there he was singing and not being well versed in doing a movie with my new camera I was not discrete enough and he caught me and stopped singing. Looking at your sidebar pictures makes me want to go back to Provence again.

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  23. Sam, this sings of chicken, for sure! It looks and sounds mouthwatering good! We eat lots of chicken and it's wonderful to find this great recipe. I always use water for the pomegranate seeds so will check out your link shortly. It's a pretty dish that's unique!

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  24. Your chicken looks delicious. I am always striving to get my chicken brown enough (without burning it). :) I have been on a pomegranate binge since I made my fennel and pomegranate salad. Can't wait to try it on chicken. I still have more I frozen in a little Mason jar - time to get them out.

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  25. With that gorgeous colour it is definitely perfect for the holidays Sam.

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  26. My daughter is gaga over pomegranate… it is so in right now and so Christmasy she will love this dish. Great techinque for getting the seeds out too thanks for sharing it on foodie friday.

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  27. That is such a beautiful dish, Sam, and so perfect for the holiday season with the red and green.

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  28. I have never cooked with pomegranate before - but this looks absolutely gorgeous!

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  29. Hi Sam,
    Your Pomegranate Glazed Chicken looks fantastic!

    I saw a little sign on Face Book a little while ago that said Texas Closed, and that says it all. We have been so blessed here at the cottage and haven't lost power but a couple of times but we are warm and cozy, still staying indoors.

    Hope you are staying warm and cozy in this cold weather and thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday.
    Come Back Soon!
    Miz Helen

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  30. Indeed a beautiful dish, Sam! I've never taken the time to "do" pomegranates, but this is tempting.

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  31. This looks SO good Sam, the glaze sounds amazing. I'm so happy the technique works well for you. I've been buying pomegranates like crazy and using them on everything, now I"ll have to try your yummy chicken! Thanks so much for the link. Chris

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  32. This dish looks so pretty! I love that most supermarkets now carry pomegranate seeds already out of the pomegranate, but the method of removing them under water is also a wonderful method, Sam.

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  33. oh the pomegranates are just amazing on the chicken. How sweet and juicy and tender the chicken looks! I love it

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  34. I couldn't resist your recipe is just too seasonally delicious. It is being featured today on foodie friday.

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  35. If you look at the third picture, where the sauce as dripped down the sliced chicken, it looks like the chicken is made out of a huge piece of bacon because of the drips.

    The plated recipe is easy on the eyes and the flavors in it sound like they would work so well together.

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  36. I just found my New Year's dinner. Love the looks of it. I think it would be such a pretty dish to ring in the New Year!

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