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Baked Chicken Thighs in a Cherry Wine, Honey and Thyme Glaze

Baked Chicken Thighs in a Cherry Wine, Honey and Thyme Glaze

Ingredients for preparation (4 servings)

  • 8 chicken thighs
  • 300 ml sweet cherry wine
  • 150 g frozen or fresh pitted cherries
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 2 tablespoons rapeseed oil
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1 teaspoon Sarepska mustard
  • 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme or 3 sprigs of fresh thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 teaspoon butter
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon potato starch mixed with 2 tablespoons of cold water

Preparation

  1. Thoroughly pat the chicken thighs dry with a paper towel. This will help the skin brown better and prevent the marinade from becoming too watery.
  2. Pour about 200 ml of cherry wine into a bowl, then add the honey, oil, mustard, pressed garlic, sweet paprika, smoked paprika, thyme, salt and pepper.
  3. Mix the marinade until the honey combines with the wine and spices. The marinade should be slightly sweet, fruity and distinctly herby.
  4. Place the drumsticks in a bowl, coat them thoroughly with the marinade, cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
  5. Preheat the oven to 190°C. Transfer the drumsticks to an ovenproof dish, skin side up. Pour the remaining marinade into the bottom of the dish.
  6. Bake the meat for about 50 minutes. Halfway through baking, pour the sauce from the bottom of the dish over the drumsticks. If the skin is browning too quickly, loosely cover the dish with aluminium foil.
  7. For the last 8-10 minutes, you can increase the temperature to 210°C so that the glaze caramelises more.
  8. Prepare the sauce while the meat is baking. Pour 100 ml of cherry wine into a small saucepan, add the cherries and cook over medium heat for 6-8 minutes, until the fruit softens slightly.
  9. Add the butter, lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Stir, then pour in the potato flour dissolved in cold water.
  10. Cook for another 2 minutes, until the sauce thickens slightly and becomes glossy.
  11. Before serving, set the drumsticks aside for 5 minutes so that the juices can spread evenly through the meat.

 

Serve the drumsticks warm, drizzled with the thick cherry sauce. They pair very well with roasted potatoes, pearl barley, celeriac purée or an arugula and apple salad. On the plate, it is worth arranging the meat on the potatoes, purée or barley, and spreading the cherry sauce partly over the meat and partly alongside it to highlight its intense colour.