BAKED CHICKEN WITH APPLE CIDER BARBECUE SAUCE

Share this recipe

This baked chicken literally falls off the bone after baking.  I used light butter to skinny it up a bit.  The barbecue sauce is simply delicious!

Serves 6

Ingredients

6 bone in, skin on chicken breasts, or a mixture with legs
3 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and pepper
¼ cup Land O Lakes light butter with canola oil
1 cup chopped yellow onion
1 tablespoon fresh garlic, minced
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon jalapeno, seeds removed and chopped, or more if you like it hot
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon chili powder
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ cup fresh apple cider
1 ½ cups cold water
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
¼ cup molasses
1 cup tomato paste

Directions

Heat a large Dutch oven to medium heat.  Add the butter, onions, garlic and salt and cook for about 3 minutes.  Add both paprika’s, jalapeno, chili powder and black pepper; cook and stir for 1 minute.  Add the apple cider, water, vinegar, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce and bring to a simmer.  Stir in the molasses and whisk in the tomato paste.  Cook, uncovered for 15 minutes or until sauce is thickened, stirring occasionally.

Heat the oven to 275 degrees F.  In a large sauté pan, add the olive oil to the pan and heat to medium-high heat.  Sprinkle kosher salt and pepper on the chicken.  Add 3 chicken breasts at a time and brown the chicken on both sides.  Remove and repeat with the other 3 chicken breasts.  Remove the chicken breasts and put in a 13x9x2 glass pan.  You will probably need 2 of these for all 6 chicken breasts.  Place skin side up.  Add 2 tablespoons water to the bottom of each glass pan.  Spoon 2 tablespoons of barbecue sauce over the top of each chicken breasts.  Cover chicken tightly with aluminum foil and put in the oven.  Bake for 1  1/2-2 hours for smaller breasts and longer  for large breasts.   When the chicken is coming off the bone, it’s done.

Remove the aluminum foil and spoon another tablespoon of sauce over each chicken breast and turn the oven temperature up to 450 degrees and put the chicken back in the oven uncovered for about 10-15 minutes.  Serve with remaining barbecue sauce.