Let’s Make Shabbat Chicken with Dried Fruit!

For our Jewish friends, this is a wonderful recipe to make for Shabbat! The chicken becomes caramelized after baking in the sweet sauce. This dish tastes best when you marinate the chicken overnight. Our friends at The Nosher show us how.

Ingredients

• ½ cup orange juice
• 1 cup dried apricots, prunes, or a combination of any dried fruit
• 12 cloves garlic, minced
• ½-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped (about 1 ½ Tbsp)
• 2 Tbsp dried oregano
• 1 Tbsp dried thyme
• ⅓ cup red wine vinegar
• 3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 ½ Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 (3- to 4-pound) chickens, cut into 8 pieces
• 1 ½ tsp kosher salt
• ½ tsp ground black pepper
• ½ cup packed light brown sugar
• ½ cup white wine

Directions

• In a small bowl, pour orange juice over dried fruit and let soak to plump the fruit, about 10 minutes. In a separate small bowl, whisk together garlic, ginger, oregano, thyme, vinegar, olive oil, lemon juice, and bay leaves.
• Place chickens in two roasting pans. Pour marinade equally over each chicken and massage into chicken. Add orange juice and fruit mixture equally to each roasting pan.
• Cover pans and marinate in the refrigerator for 4 hours or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper, and then drizzle equally with brown sugar and white wine. Bake until chicken is nicely browned on top and registers 165°F in the thickest part of the thigh, about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
• Serve with pan juices and dried fruit.

Notes

The chicken tastes best when marinated a minimum of 4 hours and preferably overnight.

Can be prepared 2 days ahead of time. Store, covered, in the refrigerator or freeze up to 3 months. Defrost in the refrigerator. Rewarm, covered, in a warming drawer or 300°F oven.

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