Garlic Rosemary Chicken with Cranberries

When I made cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving, the recipe called for one pound of cranberries.  The store I went to had two-pound packages and 12-ounce packages.  I bought two of the 12-ounce packages so I had eight ounces of unused cranberries.  Not sure what to do with them, I decided to look for recipes using cranberries.  After weeding through the myriad of sauce recipes, I finally came upon a chicken recipe on The Mediterranean Dish that looked good.

Garlic Rosemary Chicken with Cranberries

2 cups fresh cranberries

1/3 cup brown sugar

2-3 tablespoons white wine vinegar, more for later (I used champagne vinegar)

6 pieces bone-in, skin-on chicken (Handy tip:  buying a whole chicken and breaking it down yourself will save a lot of money.  I broke the chicken down into four pieces, which worked fine for this recipe)

6-8 garlic cloves, minced (Handy tip:  instead of mincing by hand, I use a garlic press.  It is so much easier and a big time saver with the same result.)

salt and pepper

1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary (or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried rosemary)

1 teaspoon sweet paprika

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 lemon, juice of (saving used lemon halves)

1 large yellow onion, chopped

3 celery stalks, chopped

1/2 cup chicken broth

More fresh rosemary for garnish

I started by combining the cranberries, brown sugar and vinegar in a small bowl.  I stirred until all the sugar, vinegar mixture coated the cranberries and then set it aside.

While the cranberries macerated, I broke the chicken down into pieces, two breast/wing pieces and two thigh/leg pieces.  I patted the chicken pieces dry and then rubbed them with the garlic on both sides.  I made sure to rub the garlic under the skin as well.  I seasoned the chicken pieces well with salt and pepper.  Next, I combined the rosemary and paprika and rubbed it on both sides of the chicken, as well as under the skin.

I mixed the olive oil, lemon juice and two tablespoons of the vinegar together in a large bowl.  I then added the chicken pieces, celery, onions and used lemon halves.  I worked it all together with my hands (I use gloves for this type of thing) and set it aside to marinate for 15 minutes.

I preheated the oven to 425 degrees.  After 15 minutes I heated one tablespoon of olive oil in a cast-iron pan (any skillet will work).  I put the chicken pieces in the pan, skin side down, to brown on medium-high.  I did this in two batches to not crowd the chicken in the pan.  After five minutes, I turned the pieces over to brown the other side.

After browning all the chicken, I put the chicken, onions, celery, lemon halves and the rest of the liquid from the marinade in a lightly oiled baking pan.  I added 1/2 cup of chicken stock (I used homemade) and the sugared cranberries.

I baked the chicken in the 425-degree oven until it cooked through (internal temperature of 165 degrees), about 35 to 40 minutes.

We ate this dish over two nights.  The first night, I poured the broth over the chicken.

The second night, I reheated the chicken in my cast-iron pan.  Once it was at temperature, I pulled the chicken and vegetables out of the pan.  I added butter and flour to the leftover liquid and cooked it on top of the stove for a few minutes while whisking.  I then added chicken stock and continued to whisk and cook the mixture until it was the consistency of a sauce.  I poured that over the chicken and then topped it with the vegetables and garnished it with a sprig of rosemary.

The chicken was moist and flavorful.  There was a nice sweetness from the celery and onions, countered by the tartness of the cranberries.  The pan sauce took the dish to the next level of delicious!