Honey Lemon Chicken
This recipe of Honey Lemon Chicken is really simple and easy to make and I find the combination of sourness from lemon and sweetness from honey refreshing. It is perfect for weekday-dinners when you are already beat from work but still prefer to have something home-cooked, which happens to be my case almost all the time since I started working again. Except for Tuesdays! Armin and I have something like a tradition that started since I came to Germany. We call it the ‘Hähnchenwagen’ day!
Every Tuesday, in the town where we used to lived about 100 meters away from our abode, comes a food truck that sells roasted chicken, spareribs, pork knuckles and Pomme Frites (pronounced ‘pohm freet’ which is French fries) and it is called ‘Hähnchenwagen’ (hähnchen-chicken; wagen-car or truck). It was put to a stop when we moved to another place but since I started working again, I would make a small detour on the way home so I can pass by the Hähnchenwagen and so our tradition lives on…
And when it is not Tuesday, this Honey Lemon Chicken could be just as easy and delicious. You can marinate the chicken a day before or even longer then store in the freezer and later bake or deep fry them when you are ready. I prefer to bake them because it is less oily and requires minimum effort..hehe..as for the honey-lemon sauce, it can be done in some minutes.
INGREDIENTS
1 cup flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 tablespoon salt
1/2 tablespoon pepper
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon paprika powder - (optional)
1 - 1 1/2 pounds chicken wings - - cut at the joints
1 tablespoon butter - (or oil)
2 cloves garlic - - minced
1/2 cup honey
3-4 tablespoon lemon Juice
1 teaspoon cornstarch - - dissolved in 1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon lemon zest
INSTRUCTIONS
Rinse and pat dry the chicken wings with paper towel. Set aside for now. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil (for easier cleaning) and place a greased baking or cooking rack on top. No baking rack? No problem, just place chicken on top of greased aluminum foil.
In a large bowl, mix together flour, cornstarch, salt, pepper, garlic and paprika powder. Roll each piece of chicken in the breading mix until well and evenly coated then arranged them on the cooking rack.
Bake chicken at 180°C/375°F for 10-13 minutes and broil for another 5 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.
Meanwhile, prepare the sauce by melting butter in a saucepan over medíum heat. Add the minced garlic and cook until slightly browned. Add the honey and lemon juice and let it simmer. Once it starts to boil add the cornstarch with water and mix. Continue to simmer until sauce thickens about 2-3 minutes mixing constantly so it will not stick at the bottom and burn. Add lemon zest and remove from heat.
Place baked chicken wings in a bowl and pour the honey lemon sauce on them and toss until evenly coated. Transfer to a serving plate.