A lot of our blog is focused on grilling. We love that and hope you do as well. Logically, we know that not every meal can be made out on the grill (even though we want that) so here is Apricot Baked Chicken Recipe in a Cast Iron Skillet that might even taste better when cooked in the oven as opposed to the grill.
As I mentioned before in the Apricot Glazed Wings post, the start of this came about by accident. A recipe Jason loved for shrimp used apricot jam and I loved it. I couldn’t believe how delicious it tasted and it really kick started me to use jams as a base for other recipes……ta-da!! Jason’s grilled plum jam ribs is another example, but since that is hard to find, we have used other dark jams on it as well with equal success.
I’m not going to lie, I am in love with this sauce! I had some left over in the fridge and heated it up with just some plain grilled chicken breasts that Jason made the previous weekend. I thought I was going to make a salad out of them but the sauce was just too good to pass up!!!
So, I used chicken thighs and used an apricot BBQ glaze to make this fantastic dish indoors!
Prepare the Apricot Glazed Chicken Thighs in the Cast Iron Skillet
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. While waiting for that to come up to temperature, heat a cast iron skillet on the stovetop to a medium high heat.
Add a tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet.
Salt and pepper the chicken thighs and add them to the heated skillet.
Saute the thighs for about 4-6 minutes each side. You are looking for a nice brown glaze on the chicken.
Pour ⅔ cup of the apricot glaze over the chicken and place the cast iron skillet in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until internal temperature is 165. The sauce should be thick and sticky!! Oh so good and yummy!!
Sheet Pan Version of Glazed Apricot Baked Chicken
You can do a similar recipe here if you don’t want to stand in front of the stove. Line a sheet pan with foil, spray with non stick spray and place chicken thighs on sheet pan. You can even mix in some vegetables. Cook about 10 minutes and check the chicken.
Helpful hint: I am a little picky here and soak up all the extra fluid that has been extracted from the chicken with paper towels. If I don’t do that, the apricot glaze (or any other sauce) just gets too runny. It has a hard time sticking to the chicken otherwise.
Pour the glaze over the chicken (and vegetables if you choose that route) and put back in the oven for 15-20 minutes.
Ingredients
- 1 cup apricot jam I love Stonewall Kitchen's or my own, but feel free to use your favorite!
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1 tbs soy sauce
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 tbs apple cider vinegar
- 1 clove garlic minced
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients in a small pan and heat. Stir occasionally until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and allow to cool to thicken.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Sprinkle salt and pepper on chicken thighs and place in a well heated cast iron skillet on the stove top at medium high heat with one tablespoon of olive oil.
- Cook for about 4-6 minutes each side.
- Brush on 2/3 c of apricot mixture and place in heated oven for 15-20 minutes until internal temperature is 165 degrees. The sauce should be thick and juicy.