I guess you could say that we are chicken people over in this house. Anytime I find a good chicken marinade recipe I have to give it a try. With baby number two coming quick I had to make something that I knew I could pack up for the week and make everyone at work think I had gone all out preparing my lunch. This honey jalapeño chicken is just the thing to make for family dinner and still have left overs for your weekly lunches.
I get people asking me all the time if I like the food that I post on here. Well, I can promise you this, if I didn’t like it I for sure wouldn’t be posting about it. I don’t want you to think that I just share our favorite meals to fool you. These are really meals that I have loved and love to share with everyone.
When I say that I love marinaded chicken recipes I am not joking around. I can eat chicken everyday, but I get bored with just plain old grilled or baked chicken. When you find a good marinade it switches everything completely up. That is something that I love about this honey jalapeño chicken marinade because you don’t just have to put it on chicken legs, you could marinade some chicken breasts, meatballs or cut it up and throw it on a salad.
No matter how you prepare this chicken, you are absolutely going to love the flavor. This will become your go to marinade for all of your family events.
- 12-16 drumsticks ((3-4 pounds)
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- Sweet Heat Marinade/Sauce
- 1 10 oz. jar jalapeno jelly
- 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 cup pineapple juice
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon all spice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 -1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Add jalapeno jelly to a microwave safe bowl and microwave until jelly is slightly liquefied and stirable. Add jelly and remaining marinade ingredients to a large bowl and whisk to combine.
- Add 1/2 cup marinade and chicken to a large freezer bag, seal and turn until all the chicken is evenly coated. Marinate in the fridge for for 12-24 hours, turning occasionally. Refrigerate the unused reserved marinade/sauce separately.
- Line a large baking sheet with foil and top with a baking/cooling rack. Lightly spray rack with nonstick cooking spray. Remove chicken from marinade and discard. Squeeze each piece of chicken dry with paper towels (the more dry, the crispier the skin) and line chicken on the baking rack without pieces touching. Pierce each piece of chicken 3-4 times with a fork. Let set at room temperature for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- Spray chicken with nonstick cooking spray and bake for 35-40 minutes. If crispier skin is desired, broil to desired crispiness (I don’t find this is necessary if you bake for 40 minutes).
- When chicken is done and cooling (you can remove skin at this point if desired), whisk 2 teaspoons cornstarch to the reserved marinade/sauce. Add to a large saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium high and let simmer (it will bubble a lot) for approximately 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until sauce has reduced and thickened. Let sit 3-5 minutes to cool slightly then pour over chicken in a large bowl. Toss to evenly combine. Dip chicken in any extra sauce or serve over rice.
