Honey balsamic chicken thighs
Juicy chicken thighs in a sticky, tangy honey balsamic glaze with bright green beans from the same pan, dinner for two in half an hour.
- 30 min total
- 25 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 2
- About $3.39 a serving
- 510 calories
- Good the next day
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: I’d make this on a weeknight. It’s on the table in 30 minutes.
Ingredients
For 2 servings.
- 1 lb boneless chicken thighs, about 4 thighs
- 8 oz green beans, trimmed
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp butter
From your pantry
- ¾ tsp salt, divided
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp water
- 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- ¼ tsp dried thyme
Each serving has about 510 calories, 47 g protein, 31 g carbs and 22 g fat, and costs about $3.39 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No boneless chicken thighs? Chicken breasts or chicken tenderloins work.
- No green beans? Frozen green beans work.
- No honey? Maple syrup works.
- No butter? Ghee works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the chicken dry and it with ½ teaspoon of salt, the pepper and garlic powder.
Pat dry. Patting dry means pressing paper towels onto food to soak up the moisture on its surface. Wet food steams instead of browning, so this is how you get a good sear and crisp skin.
How you’ll know: The surface feels tacky, not wet, and the last paper towel comes away barely damp.
Season. Seasoning means adding salt, pepper or spices to bring out a food’s flavor. A little at a few stages tastes better than a lot all at the end.
How you’ll know: When you taste it, it tastes bright and like itself, not flat and not salty.
Food safety: Wash your hands, the board and the knife with hot soapy water after touching raw meat, and don’t rinse raw chicken in the sink.
Heat the oil in a large over medium-high until it . Cook the thighs smooth side down 5 to 6 minutes, until deep .
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Shimmering oil. Oil shimmers when it’s hot enough to cook: its surface looks rippled and wavy, like heat over a road. That’s your cue to add the food, just before the oil would start to smoke.
How you’ll know: The oil looks wavy and runs thin like water when you tilt the pan, with no smoke yet.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Medium-high heatTimer: 5 min 30 sec
Flip and cook 5 to 6 minutes more, until the thickest one reads 165°F. Move them to a plate.
Medium-high heatTimer: 5 min 30 sec
Food safety: Chicken and turkey are done at 165°F in the thickest part. A thermometer is the only sure check. Without one, cut into the thickest piece: it should be white all the way through, with no pink.
Add the green beans, water and remaining salt to the pan, cover, and cook 4 to 5 minutes, until bright green and . Move them to plates.
Tender-crisp. Tender-crisp means vegetables cooked until just tender but still with a little snap. They keep their bright color and crunch instead of going soft and dull.
How you’ll know: A fork goes in with slight resistance, and the color is bright, not olive or gray.
Medium heatTimer: 4 min 30 sec
Turn the heat to low, add the garlic for 30 seconds, then in the vinegar, honey and thyme. 2 to 3 minutes, until syrupy.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Low heatTimer: 2 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: When the bubbles turn big and glossy, it’s ready. It thickens more as it cools.Take the pan off the heat, swirl in the butter, and turn the chicken in the .
Glaze. A glaze is a thin, glossy coating, often sweet, brushed or spooned over food near the end. It adds shine and flavor, and because it has sugar, it can burn quickly.
How you’ll know: The food looks shiny and evenly coated, sticky at the edges but not blackened.
Set the chicken next to the green beans and spoon the rest of the over.
Glaze. A glaze is a thin, glossy coating, often sweet, brushed or spooned over food near the end. It adds shine and flavor, and because it has sugar, it can burn quickly.
How you’ll know: The food looks shiny and evenly coated, sticky at the edges but not blackened.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
