Apricot Chicken (Jessica's)

This is the kind of chicken recipe that feeds a crowd and barely asks anything of you. Two whole birds, cut up, coated in flour, egg, and matzo meal for a crispy shell, then baked under a sticky-sweet glaze of apricot preserves, duck sauce, brown sugar, ketchup, and vinegar.

The matzo meal coating is a smart choice. It crisps up during the initial 30-minute bake, then holds its structure under the sauce instead of turning soggy. The three-stage baking process (30 minutes dry, an hour with sauce at moderate heat, then another hour lower and slower) gives the glaze time to caramelize and the chicken time to get fall-off-the-bone tender.

The sauce is sweet-forward with a vinegar tang that keeps it from being cloying. Optional mushrooms added for the final hour soak up all that apricot glaze and become little flavor sponges.

Chef Tips

• Brown the coated chicken well during the first 30 minutes before adding sauce. That initial crust provides texture contrast under the sticky glaze.
• The sauce should bubble gently, not vigorously. The lower temperature in the final hour prevents the sugars from burning and turning bitter.
• Baste the chicken once or twice during the sauced baking stages. The glaze thickens as it reduces, and basting keeps the top pieces glossy.
• This reheats beautifully the next day. The sauce continues to meld with the chicken overnight in the fridge.

Variations

• Passover-ready: This is already kosher-friendly with the matzo meal. Skip the duck sauce and double the apricot preserves if duck sauce isn’t available.
• Spicy apricot: Add a tablespoon of sriracha or a teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes to the sauce for a sweet-heat version.