Fried Meat Glaze With Mustard and Jam
There are so many good jams, jellies and canned fruit pastes in this world that it’s easy to put together a whole collection. (I have three to five cans of Bonne Maman in my fridge at any given time.) While these fruity sweets are perfect for nothing more than good bread, they can also be used to make bombs ( bonne ?) For grilled meats.
In addition to jam, you will need mustard. What flavor of jam should you use? Any flavor of jam. Which mustard to choose? Any mustard. I’m a big fan of peach with stone ground and blackberry with classic yellow, but I really can’t think of a bad combination. (I’m thrilled to try the spicy mustard next time.) The mustard adds a slightly bitter flavor that helps wet the sugar in the fruit, turning into a sticky-sweet frosting on any meats you accidentally water on. The ratio of one part mustard to two parts canned fruit is pretty good, but you can always add a little of this or the other to your liking.
When exactly to apply the glaze, it’s up to you. If you’re working with boneless, skinless chicken breast and aren’t too worried about browning, it makes a great marinade. If you don’t want to sacrifice a crispy crust, apply it later in the cooking process. My favorite thing to sprinkle with this frosting is the humble chicken thighs. Fry the leather in a skillet until it takes on color and texture, then add a little frosting and let it finish in the oven. You end up with a spicy, almost candy-like film on a juicy chunk of bone-in meat with just five ingredients. To make it yourself, you will need:
- 4 chicken thighs with skin on bone
- Salt
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, schmalz, duck fat or lard
- 1/2 cup of your favorite fruit preserves
- 1/4 cup mustard
Season the thighs liberally on both sides with salt and set aside. (If you can, let them hang in the refrigerator without a lid overnight to aid the crisp process, but this is not necessary.) Preheat the oven to 400 ℉ and heat the fat in an oven-safe skillet over high heat. heat on the stove. When the oil gets hot and starts to shimmer, fry the chicken skin side down until the skin is brown and crispy (about five minutes). Combine the canned food and mustard, turn the chicken over, and spoon the frosting over each thigh. Place the whole thing in the oven and cook until the thickest part of the thickest thigh is 165 ℉. Remove from the oven, let stand for five minutes, then dig in, ideally with your hands on your thigh and pulling the meat off the bone, just like in the wild.