Chicken with Honey

A sticky, caramelized honey mustard chicken with a four-ingredient glaze that bakes into a gorgeous golden crust.

The prep starts hours before cooking. Washing the chicken with lemon, salting it generously, and refrigerating for 4 hours draws out moisture and seasons the meat deep into the bone. That dry-brining step is what separates juicy, well-seasoned chicken from bland, watery pieces.

The glaze is dead simple: a full cup of honey, four tablespoons of mustard, four cloves of minced garlic, and flour to thicken it so it clings. Coat every piece thoroughly and bake uncovered so the glaze caramelizes in the hot oven. The flour in the mixture helps it set into a sticky crust rather than sliding off into the pan.

Use a Pyrex dish just big enough to hold the pieces snugly. Too large a dish and the glaze spreads thin and burns.

Pro Tips

• Don’t skip the 4-hour salting step. It’s the difference between chicken that tastes seasoned throughout and chicken that tastes like glazed cardboard.
• Bake uncovered the entire time. Covering traps steam and prevents the honey from caramelizing.
• Check at the 45-minute mark. Honey burns fast, so if the glaze is getting too dark, tent loosely with foil for the last few minutes.

Variations

• Add a tablespoon of soy sauce to the glaze for a sweet-savory, almost teriyaki flavor.
• Use Dijon mustard instead of prepared yellow for a sharper, more complex glaze.
• Squeeze fresh lemon juice over the finished chicken before serving for a bright citrus contrast.