Maple-Glazed Chicken

December 17: National Maple Syrup Day

We bought a bottle of maple syrup from Bob’s Sugarhouse when we were in Maine visiting our goddaughter, Keira B., and her family a few summers ago. The rustic cabin had shelves lined with a variety of decorative glass containers, tins and plastic jugs filled with 100% Maine maple syrup and other fine maple and Maine products. The owner of the sugarhouse, Bob Moore, personally gave us a tour of the syrup-processing equipment behind the storefront.  He explained that it takes 30-40 gallons of maple sap to make just one gallon of syrup. Water from the sap must be filtered, boiled and evaporated until the syrup reaches proper density and a rich amber color.  The distinctive taste of maple is worth all the effort.

For National Maple Syrup Day, we made maple-glazed chicken with thyme and sweet potato hash using the 100% Maine maple syrup medium grade A amber that we bought at Bob’s Sugarhouse.

Recipe

(Adapted from Continental inflight magazine)

Ingredients

• 6 chicken leg quarters
• 1 cup olive oil, divided
• 1 bunch fresh thyme
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 4 sweet potatoes, diced
• 2 onions, chopped
• ¾ cup pure maple syrup

Directions

Salt and pepper the chicken. Marinate in olive oil and a half bunch of thyme for two hours in the refrigerator. In a roasting pan, mix the sweet potatoes, onions and the other half bunch of thyme. Salt and pepper to taste.

Place the chicken among the sweet potatoes and onions mixture, drizzling the rest of the olive oil marinade over the chicken and arranging the thyme on the top and sides. Pour the maple syrup over everything. Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees F for 45 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the top skin is browned. Drain oil and discard the baked thyme sprigs. Serve the chicken with the side of sweet potatoes and onions and garnish with a fresh sprig of thyme.

Notes

• We  reduced the recipe by a third to feed just the two of us (and save our pricey yet precious Maine maple syrup for another blog recipe).
• Read an interview with Chef Robin Paula, creator of the above recipe, on the Continental Airlines website. We first saw her recipe printed in the July 2010 issue of the inflight magazine when we were flying from Hawaii back to the mainland after a short summer vacation.