Sticky Pomegranate Chicken

Skinless and boneless chicken thighs are marinated and flavoured with simple pantry seasonings and spices, along with pomegranate molasses. Pan-fried until moist and tender, this Sticky Pomegranate Chicken is tossed with more pomegranate molasses and pomegranate arils before serving. So easy, yet so delicious, and perfect for a holiday main!

I think chicken is one of the most common mains in most homes. You can easily purchase chicken at all grocery stores, it comes in various formats, and in my case, it’s cheaper than pork or beef. And, above all else, it’s easier to prepare too. Speaking of various formats, for me, my go-to cut of the chicken is the thigh. More specifically, I go for boneless skinless chicken thighs, just like in the case of this Sticky Pomegranate Chicken recipe.

When it comes right down to it, chicken thighs are more flavourful than breast meat. Sure, thighs are a bit fattier and not so “healthy,” but they’re certainly tastier. I tend to prefer skinless and boneless simply because most of the prep work is already done. I hate removing the bone from thigh meat because it’s so tedious. And even though chicken skin is edible, I prefer to have it battered and deep fried, which is not what this recipe calls for.

SUBSCRIBE NOW AND NEVER MISS ANOTHER RECIPE!

So, welcome, Dear Reader, to the start of my annual holiday-themed recipes. Traditionally, every year I share a series of recipes that you might already be familiar with. For example, I’ve previously shared 12 Holiday Trifles, 12 Holiday Bars & Squares, and even these 12 Edible Holiday Wreath recipes! Also, some of my favourite recipe collections from previous years are my 75 Homemade Gifts from Your Kitchen, my 50 Make Ahead Freezer Friendly Christmas Recipes, and my 30 No-Bake Christmas Recipes post.

This year I’m doing it differently. Rather than sharing multiple back to back series, I’m sharing a new holiday-themed recipe almost every day from now until Christmas Eve. For those of you who have followed my annual Lord Byron’s 24 Cookies of Christmas series, don’t worry, you will still get lots of new cookie recipes this year too. I will not, however, be publishing the cookies back to back in a 24-day series. This would have been my 8th year running the series and it becomes very exhausting, so this year, I’m spreading the recipes out so that I’m not sharing the same type of recipe every day.

You really don’t want to miss one of these recipes, so if you have not yet subscribed to Lord Byron’s Kitchen, I encourage you to do so. That way, a new recipe will be emailed to you every day. You won’t have to bother to come looking for it! And, just in case you’re curious, you can see previous annual posts for my 24 Cookies of Christmas Series here!

INGREDIENTS NEEDED FOR THIS RECIPE:

The list below lists what ingredients are needed and why they are important to this dish. A full list of ingredient measurements and preparation can be found in the recipe card near the bottom of this post.

• Chicken Thighs  – Boneless and skinless thighs work best in this recipe.
• Cooking Oil – Use canola, vegetable, olive, or avocado oil.
• Dried Spices and Seasonings – You will need garlic powder, onion powder, dried oregano, dried parsley, dried thyme, ground nutmeg, paprika, salt, and ground black pepper.
• Pomegranate Molasses – This simple and deliciously thick syrup can be used to add sweetness and tartness to foods, or even increase the sweetness and tartness level in foods that are already a little sweet and tart.
• Pomegranate Arils – For garnish and presentation.
• Parsley – For flavour and garnish.

HOW TO MAKE STICKY POMEGRANATE CHICKEN

Cut the chicken into one inch pieces. Transfer the chicken to a bowl. Measure the following ingredients into the bowl with the chicken: olive oil, onion powder, salt, dried oregano, paprika, dried parsley, garlic powder, ground black pepper, dried thyme, ground nutmeg, and half of the pomegranate molasses. Toss the chicken well with the olive oil and spices until well coated. Cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.

Remove the chicken from fridge and transfer the chicken and marinade to a skillet over medium heat. Fry the chicken for 8-10 minutes or until done. Lower the heat to simmer and add the remaining pomegranate molasses to the skillet. Stir to combine and cook for 2 minutes until the molasses is fully heated through and the chicken is well coated. Plate the chicken and garnish with the pomegranate arils and chopped parsley.

WHICH CHOICE OF CHICKEN WORKS BEST?

For this Sticky Pomegranate Chicken recipe, I would highly recommend boneless, skinless chicken thighs. I love working with chicken thighs. No matter what cooking method I throw at them, they always come out tender and moist. I’m also a fan of dark meat. I think it’s more flavourful. So, boneless, skinless chicken thighs are the way to go in my opinion.

You can certainly use breast meat for this recipe too. Because breast meat tends to cook faster than dark meat, you’ll want to ensure that the breast meat is cut into larger pieces. The breast meat can dry out rather quickly, especially if you’re planning to pan fry it. Using a larger piece of breast meat will ensure that it doesn’t become overdone and too dry. There’s nothing worse than dry breast meat! My rule of thumb is as follows: fry the thigh meat until golden brown. It’s really that simple.

POMEGRANATE MOLASSES

Let me tell you about how easy it is to make pomegranate molasses! This simple and deliciously thick syrup can be used to add sweetness and tartness to foods, or even increase the sweetness and tartness level in foods that are already a little sweet and tart. A perfect example is a fruit salad. Even though fruit is already naturally sweet, some people like to add a drizzle of pomegranate molasses to their fruit salad to increase the sweetness, but to also act as a shiny glaze.

Pomegranate molasses is often found in desserts. Just like the shiny glaze in the fruit salad, it can be used to glaze baked goods. Think of things like donuts or sugary, sweet buns. That stickiness and sweetness on the outside is easily achieved with a pomegranate molasses syrup drizzle.

According to a quick Google search, you can purchase it almost anywhere, but I’m not able to easily find it where I live so I decided to make it instead. Large chain grocery stores should carry it, as well as bakery supply stores. Some liquor stores may carry it too, because it can be commonly found in cocktail recipes.

QUESTIONS?

If I have not answered all of your questions in the text above, don’t hesitate to reach out to me! You can contact me by sending me a message in the comments section further down the page. I will try my best to answer as soon as possible! You might reach me even faster by following me on Facebook and sending me a private message. Scroll down to follow me and never miss another recipe!