Easy Crispy Skinned Chicken a l’Orange

This chicken recipe is a riff on authentic Duck a l’Orange. Two simple ingredients, orange juice concentrate and honey, make an easy and delicious sauce to glaze these crispy skin chicken breasts. This is a very budget-conscious meal that is worthy enough to serve company.

This recipe dates back to 2009, when I was a fledgling food blogger and photogher. The recipe comes from Food Network. Melissa D’Arabian had a show called $10 dinners. This is one of her recipes that I’ve remade with upgraded photos, and because it’s easy and delicious. (Sadly, her show is now history due to her decision to focus more on her family. Plus, $10 dinners are quite a challenge with today’s grocery prices!)

Here are the simple ingredients: Orange juice concentrate, chicken breasts–bone in, skin on, honey and salt & pepper. I bought an orange concentrate that doesn’t have high fructose corn syrup, and the honey came from a local bee keeper.

Let’s make the easy orange sauce/glaze:

Roll up your sleeves. In a pot, pour 1/2 cup of frozen orange juice concentrate (no need to thaw), 4 Tablespoons honey, some salt and pepper. Yes, that’s it! You won’t even break a sweat. Cook over medium heat for 3 minutes, then remove from the heat.

Preheat the oven to 375˚F. Liberally salt and pepper the chicken breast halves. Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat and sear the chicken, skin side only, until brown and beginning to crisp, about 5 minutes. The idea is to sear the chicken to get that beautiful crispy skin. The secret? Be sure that you chicken is bone dry…pat, pat, pat with towels to remove all moisture. Bring the oil hot enough to where it ripples, but it’s not smoking. Put the chicken in, skin down, and sear the meat for 3 minutes (not moving it around).

Flip the chicken over and glaze the chicken with a brush. Don’t POUR the sauce on, or the skin can turn soggy.

Place an oven-proof skillet into the oven and bake/roast for about 15-20 minutes. We want an internal temperature between 160F-170F. Halfway through carefully (remember, the handle is hot) remove the skillet and glazed the chicken again.

Remove the skillet, and set the chicken onto a carving board and cover with foil– let it rest for about 10 minutes.

What I like about this recipe, is that there is nothing to deglaze and no sauce to reduce. It’s already passing my “test” that when I ran a spatula through it, it separated. This really is a tasty sauce.

Cut out the breast bone and then slice the chicken breasts. I had four generous portions.

The perfect side dish are Melissa’s Perfect Crispy Potatoes and wilted spinach. The entire meal took less than an hour, from start to the dining room table.

TASTING NOTES: The chicken was really moist, and the sauce… mmm-mmm-mmm. Authentic Chicken a L’Orange uses duck instead of chicken and it’s a lot more work and cost. This version has been streamlined for a dinner than can be on the table in 45 minutes– take or give a few more minutes. This certainly can’t be called boring chicken!

I really loved this recipe for Perfect Crispy Potatoes! These potatoes are so easy to make, non-greasy and very Parisian. You can find the recipe for the potatoes here. Truthfully, I would serve this dinner to company. I also think that the sauce would be delicious with pork tenderloin– and I definitely plan to test that theory.

Print Recipe

No ratings yet

Crispy-Skinned Chicken a l’Orange

Two simple ingredients, orange juice concentrate and honey, make an easy and delicious sauce to go on chicken. This is a very budget-conscious meal that is worthy enough to serve company.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time25 minutes mins

Total Time40 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, French

Keyword: Crispy Skinned Orange Chicken

Servings: 3

Calories: 284kcal

Author: Debby – www.AFeastfortheEyes.net

Equipment

• oven-proof skillet

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 chicken breast halves skin-on bone-in
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

ORANGE GLAZE:

• 1/2 cup frozen orange juice concentrate
• 4 tablespoons honey

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 375˚F.
• Liberally salt and pepper the chicken breast halves.
• Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat and sear the chicken, skin side only, until brown and beginning to crisp, about 5 minutes.

ORANGE GLAZE:

• In a small saucepan, heat the orange juice concentrate, honey, and salt and pepper, to taste, over medium heat, and boil for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat.
• Turn the chicken over and brush each piece with the glaze.
• Turn the chicken skin side up and transfer the pan to the oven.
• Bake until the internal temperature reaches 160 to 170˚F on an instant-read thermometer, brushing on more glaze halfway through, about 15 minutes in total.
• Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes on a cutting board.
• Remove the chicken breast from the bone and slice the meat on the bias.

  Transfer the chicken to a serving platter and serve.

Notes

Recipe source: Food Network

Nutrition

Calories: 284kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 72mg | Sodium: 136mg | Potassium: 730mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 37g | Vitamin A: 213IU | Vitamin C: 70mg | Calcium: 25mg | Iron: 1mg

Tried this recipe?Mention @afeastfortheeyes or tag #afeastfortheeyesblog!