Roasted Lavender Honey Glazed Chicken Recipe
Lavender is pretty strong, but when you combine it with something sweet — like the honey — it works well. You can find culinary grade lavender in spice and tea shops as well as online.
Lavender is pretty strong, but when you combine it with something sweet — like the honey — it works well. You can find culinary grade lavender in spice and tea shops as well as online.
- Carbohydrate 26.9858675091956 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 0.306341250306175 g
- Fiber 0.753574994886619 g
- Protein 0.33100125034769 g
- Saturated Fat 0.100797750144976 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (46g)
- Sodium 44.3581250116331 mg
- Sugar 26.232292514309 g
- Trans Fat 0.0541740000571403 g
- Calories 105 calories
Step-by-step
- Position an oven rack towards the middle of the oven then heat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Season chicken quarters with about 1 teaspoon of salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Place, in one layer, onto a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, add lavender, thyme, rosemary, red pepper flakes, honey and the balsamic vinegar to a small saucepan over medium low heat. Whisk until well blended. When warmed through, remove from the heat and set aside.
- After 20 minutes of roasting, baste the chicken with the lavender honey glaze every 5 minutes until the chicken is cooked though and a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken reads 165 degrees F, an additional 15 to 20 minutes.
- Remove chicken from the oven, loosely cover with aluminum foil and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Can culinary lavender overpower poultry if the ratio is left unchecked, and how does honey behave under high heat? Dried lavender contains potent volatile oils that easily dominate savory proteins, which is why pairing it with a humectant like honey and a sharp acid such as balsamic vinegar creates necessary balance during roasting at 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Because honey sugars burn quickly due to their high fructose content, applying the glaze during the final fifteen to twenty minutes of cooking prevents the exterior from charring before the interior reaches the mandatory 165 degrees Fahrenheit food safety threshold. If culinary lavender is unavailable, substitute crushed fennel seeds at a one-to-one ratio to mimic the herbal, anise-like aromatic compounds without the distinct floral bitterness. Fresh rosemary and thyme can replace their dried counterparts, but remember to double the volume since dried herbs are more concentrated in flavor than fresh foliage. While the chicken roasts on a rimmed baking sheet, simmering the glaze over medium-low heat gently dissolves the honey and forces the dried botanicals to release their fat-soluble compounds into the liquid without scorching the sugars. Allowing the roasted bird to rest loosely under aluminum foil for five minutes redistributes the muscle juices away from the center toward the exterior, ensuring each quarter remains moist upon carving.
