Honeyed Chicken – A Recipe from Game of Thrones

Happy Game of Thrones week!

For those who don’t know what Game of Thrones is… Who the heck are you?!

To my returning fans… I can’t believe we’re on season 5 already, can you?! The premier is Sunday, April 12th on HBO and I’m counting down the minutes! I still remember the first time I got hooked on the show. But even though I’d love to get into it and talk your ears off for hours, let’s not go down that rabbit hole. Let’s talk about the food!

I always love making and posting about the food from the GoT universe. I’ve mentioned this before, but if you weren’t aware, food is a HUGE focal point in the books. The author, George R. R. Martin, has mentioned his love for describing in great detail the meals and dishes the characters come across throughout the stories. Everything from the stalest piece of bread to the grandest feast is described in such a way that it’ll leave you wanting the next bite after you only read about the first.

Which leads us to the Inn at the Crossroads! In the books and the show, it’s a place where travelers on the Kingsroad can stop for a bite to eat. In the real world, it’s the name of the awesome official food blog of Game of Thrones. The co-creators, Chelsea and Sariann, became co-authors when they published A Feast of Ice and Fire.

If you’re a fan of the show and a lover of foods and cook books, you owe it to yourself to pick this up. There are so many great recipes in here, categorized by the region they’re from, so you won’t be disappointed. Many of the recipes came straight from the food blog so if you want a taste of the book, go check out the site and see for yourself. Here, I’ll even link it again.

I emailed the wickedly cool Chelsea last year, asking her permission to use some recipes for my blog. She happily agreed, but unfortunately, my plan to post a recipe a week during the season fell victim to my lack of time and laziness. Maybe games too, as the last few weeks could prove is a possibility. But over the years I have been able to put together quite a few great posts from Inn at the Crossroads, so check them out!

I have a few favorites, and one is definitely the Blueberry Tarts. Man, just seeing that post again makes me want to have one.

Bread & Salt, which sounds boring and plaine, really isn’t. I went into detail with it last year along with Guest Right and the Sacred Law of Hospitality. The lore and history behind the simple appetizer makes it one of my favorite posts. It’s packed with tons of Thrones goodness and is a must-make for any Game of Thrones get together!

And if chicken isn’t your thing, how about a Beef and Bacon Pie? Oooooooooooooh, yes. The Beef and Bacon Pie. I don’t even think I need to say anything about that to talk you into it.

That’s all I got on the blog for Game of Thrones recipes, but there is a TON more options and meals over at Inn at the Crossroads if you’re really serious about it. If you’re a fan of the show and like throwing parties or just impressing your friends and family, you owe it to yourself to check it out.

Yeah, Game of Thrones parties! If you weren’t aware, viewing parties are totally a thing. And with the help of Chelsea and Sariann’s site, the cookbook – and in turn, what I’m posting – people are able to make quite the memorable impression on guests who come over to watch the show and have a good time. Sadly, we don’t have enough friends to call anything a party. Heck, we’re lucky we have access to HBO. But don’t let things like that hold you back! If you’re a fan, check out the book or my links and get started on your feast to make the season 5 premier a good one!

To ring it in this year, I chose Honeyed Chicken. I actually made it last year and thought it was amazing. I never got the chance to write it up though and that was partly due to not really liking the way the pictures turned out. But that’s changed now!

Seriously, the sweet and tangy sauce with the dried fruit paired with the salty chicken has got to be one of my favorite combinations when it comes to savory meals. It’s a taste that once you get it in your mouth, you can’t get that other bite in there fast enough.

So how about we get it going?

Honeyed Chicken           (slightly adapted from Inn at the Crossroads)

 

1 each – chicken
2 tablespoons – Olive Oil and/or Butter, melted
Salt

 

Sauce

 

1/2 cup – Apple Cider Vinegar
1/3 cup – Honey
1 teaspoon – Mint, dried
1/2 cup – Raisins
1 tablespoon – Butter

Notes:

• This recipe is straight from the blog. But I remembered what I loved from the last time I made it and made some variations. Not to say there’s anything wrong with this recipe, I just wanted a little more quantity.
• What did I change? I put a tad more vinegar and honey to give me more sauce when it was done reducing. I also increased the mint by half a teaspoon and added a half cup of dried cranberries. My favorite part has to be the raisins and the cranberries and how they soak up the sauce, so a whole cup of them may sound like a lot, but you’ll understand.
• It may sound like there’s a lot to it, but this is insanely easy to put together. You’re just reducing a sauce and pouring it over a chicken. The most work you’ll have here is probably cutting the bird and sharing it with people.

How easy? I’ll show you!

• First thing is getting the chicken done. Turn the oven to 450 and the bird ready for its fate. Get it nice and buttered up, and sprinkle plenty of salt on it. I usually truss my chicken but for this I just let it roast free. I think it gives it more of a medieval look. Once it’s ready, pop it in the oven for about an hour.

You might have to turn it once or so depending on the oven, but it’ll come out looking nice and golden.

While it’s in there though, start working on the sauce.

• Take everything for the sauce, put it in a pan, and let it simmer till it reduces down by like half. Seriously, when I say simple, I mean simple.

There’s something about this sauce that is so addicting and so great with chicken. The tang you get from the apple cider vinegar.

That sweetness that balances it all out with the honey.

Then all the raisins and cranberries that sit in the sauce and soak up all the goodness. Seriously, they’re like tiny little flavor bombs that explode when you bite them, it’s amazing.

You don’t need to have it on high heat, just as long as it’s a nice simmer.

When it’s reduced enough and you take it off the heat, you’ll see the nice plump fruit and thick sauce just begging to be poured on some chicken.

And paired with the chicken is so good. It may sound weird – raisins, honey, mint, chicken – but it works beautifully.

So once the sauce and chicken are done, all that’s left is to introduce them to each other.

And that’s it! Just cut up the chicken and serve it up. Leave some sauce in the pan to spoon it on top of the portions you cut, because you’re going to want to make sure you get every aspect of the sauce in every bite. Trust me.

This was one of the first recipes I tried from A Feast of Ice and Fire, and I was happy to see it on the blog when I checked. The flavors are immense and it just looks stunning!

If you’re hosting a Game of Thrones viewing party – which you totally should! – this should go right smack in the middle of your table.

Heck, make 2 of them! Because whoever you invite is surely going to want all your chicken.

Just be sure to give them bread and salt when they walk in. Case they try to eat all of it..