Celebrating Modern Jewish Living Through Food, Tradition, and Family
Hawaiian Chicken
The Backstory: Chicken is chicken. It seems as though there must be zillions of recipes out there. Baked, fried, boiled, braised etc. Get the picture? Practically every culture has their favorites. More of the Backstory after the recipe…
Hawaiian Chicken
Ingredients
- 4-5 lbs large Kosher chicken or chicken parts
- 1 15 ounce can mixed fruit cocktail, drained Reserve liquid. You can also use any canned fruit your prefer (pineapples, etc.)
- 1/2+ cup Saucy Susan
- 1+ tbsp. vegetable oil
- 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
- 1/2 tsp. paprika
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
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Put chicken in roasting pan.
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Mix oil, salt, pepper and paprika together. Rub on chicken.
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Place in oven. Roast for about 1 1/4 hours.
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Spread Saucy Susan on top of chicken. Add more if needed. Put mixed fruit on top of sauce. It does not matter if sauce and fruit end up in pan. The juice from the chicken will just enhance the fruit flavors.
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Bake for another 10 - 20 minutes. Check often that fruit or sauce does not burn. Baste with pan juices.
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Remove from oven and let rest for at least 10 minutes before cutting chicken into pieces. Spoon sauce and fruit over chicken; rice makes a nice accompaniment to this dish.
…The Backstory continues: I first had a version of Hawaiian Chicken back in the late 1950s or early 1960s. I do not recall were I first tasted this sweet, succulent chicken. However, I never forgot it, but I did not make this dish for many years.
Looking for a new chicken recipe it dawned on me, why not make the “fruity ” one I had years before. Since I never had a recipe, I decided to create my own. I tried many different ways with the fruit toppings. I found that canned fruit works better than fresh fruit because it requires less baking time. Feel free to experiment with the toppings of your choice.
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