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Honey-Soy Glazed Chicken is roasted until super juicy and tender in foil and then broiled with a glaze to give you a beautifully caramelized sweet-savory chicken dinner.
I’ve been cooking a lot of oven “barbecue” lately and am continually impressed at how easy it is to get amazingly cooked meat by going low-and-slow with foil and then unwrapping the meat and broiling it for a bit before enjoying it.
I’ve been using Reynolds Wrap® Heavy Duty Foil since I moved to the United States six years ago and it’s been an indispensable part of my cooking. Naturally, I was thrilled to have the chance to work with them.
Reynolds Wrap® Heavy Duty Foil is durable and sturdy, so you only ever need one layer of it. I can’t remember having it break on me. And to be able to lock in moisture so reliably, I’ve been able to use this foil to make wonderful ribs, chicken, potatoes, carrots, and more. The ability of the product to help develop flavor and tenderness in all kinds of food is HUGE. The new package now is easier to open and has a tab that keeps the box fully closed for storing after use. The new color-coded look also makes it easier to find the product in the aisle. Look for the blue design for Reynolds Wrap® Heavy Duty Foil.
I’m very pleased with how this Honey-Soy Glazed Chicken came out and hope that you, too, can enjoy the rewards of foil roasting!
Honey-Soy Glazed Chicken: BBQ Meets Teriyaki
This chicken brings you the nearly-falling-apart juicy tenderness of a slow cooked chicken and the irresistible sweet-savory glaze that you may know from teriyaki and it’s such a great combination.
I’m a huge fan of barbecued chicken – tender, juicy meat encased in a crispy crust, tangy and a little sticky. And who doesn’t love teriyaki? It’s got that perfect balance of sweetness and umami, plus a bit of ginger-garlic aromatics.
It’s a marriage of two very classic dishes and it’s sure to please any palate, regardless of how adventurous or picky the eater.
How to make Honey-Soy Glazed Chicken
Make a Dry Rub and Wrap in Reynolds Wrap® Heavy Duty Foil to Start
You’ll mix up some dry spices (ginger, garlic, and chili powder) with salt and sugar and rub the mixture onto the chicken. This blend will help develop the flavor and juiciness of the chicken as it cooks slowly in the foil. I used Reynolds Wrap® Heavy Duty Foil because it is perfect for cooking with heavier foods since you don’t have to worry about breaking or tearing. The honey-soy glaze comes later.
As you wrap up the chicken in foil, take care to put the seam at the top, so none of the juices will spill out. Press the foil together tightly, to prevent moisture from escaping in the form of steam. If too much steam escapes, the chicken won’t be as juicy.
For the best results, you should wrap each piece of chicken (I highly recommend leg quarters) in its own pouch. It’s easiest to handle this way.
Roast the Chicken Nice and Slow
Once your chicken pouches are ready, you can bake them. 300 degrees F for an hour and a half will get the chicken not just cooked through, but also very tender and full of flavor.
Make the Sauce as the Chicken Cooks
With 90 minutes to spare until the chicken is ready, you have plenty of time to get the honey-soy glaze ready.
Making the glaze is very straightforward – gently heat the honey, soy sauce, fresh ginger, and chili flakes (save the lemon juice for later) to bring it to a simmer, stirring until it thickens.
It takes 10 minutes or so and you’ll need to tend to it, stirring as needed to prevent scorching. Otherwise, you can use the rest of the roasting time however you like.
Once the sauce has thickened up a bit like molasses, you’ll take it off the heat and stir in the lemon juice, which will thin it out slightly.
You want a glaze that is thick enough to not drip off of the chicken when you brush it on.
Unwrap, Brush, and Broil the Chicken
Once the 90 minutes are up and the foil roasting has worked its magic, it’s time for the finishing touch.
Take the chicken out of the oven, fire up the broiler, then unwrap the pouches and place the chicken directly on the foil-lined baking pan. You’ll brush half of the glaze onto it, taking care to keep as much of the glaze on the chicken as possible. You don’t want the glaze on the foil, as it could burn and smoke up your kitchen.
Once the broiler is nice and hot, pop the chicken back in and let it broil for 5 minutes or so, until the glaze is nicely caramelized. Take the chicken out and brush the rest of the glaze onto it, and repeat. The chicken is ready when the second coat of glaze is nicely caramelized – a nice dark brown but not black.
Make it a Meal: Broil Some Veggies, Too
The recipe below is focused on helping you get this delicious chicken on your table, but the cooking method makes it very easy to roast some veggies along with the chicken without much more work.
Here are some tips to get you moving in the right direction:
- You effectively have 10 minutes of broiler time to cook the veggies, so you’ll need to choose thinner ones that can get cooked through in that time.
- You can either use veggies that are already thin (green beans, cherry tomatoes) or those that can easily be sliced thin and are not super dense (onion, pepper)
- Spray or brush some oil onto the veggies to prevent them from scorching under the heat of the broiler.
Final Thoughts
I’ve been cooking with foil in different ways for a long time, but I still find myself impressed at the results that certain cooking techniques that use it can bring. I hope you find this method useful and that it helps you enjoy some very tasty, very easy-to-make roast chicken!
Honey-Soy Glazed Chicken (Reynolds Foil)
Ingredients
- 4 chicken leg quarters
- Optional handful of vegetables of your choice (green beans, onion, peppers and/or tomato work great)
Spice Rub:
- 4 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons ginger powder
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons chili flakes (or cayenne for a spicier result, or paprika for a non-spicy dish)
Glaze
- 1/2 cup honey
- 6 tablespoons soy sauce
- 8 slices ginger
- 2 teaspoons chili flakes (or cayenne for a spicier result, or paprika for a non-spicy dish)
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
Equipment
- Reynolds Wrap® Heavy Duty Foil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Combine the dry rub ingredients in a bowl, mix well, and set aside.
- Prepare four 16” (40 cm) sheets of Reynolds Wrap® Heavy Duty Foil (if not heavy duty, use 2 layers of foil per chicken leg quarter). Place one leg quarter in the center of each piece of foil. Distribute the rub evenly between the legs, then thoroughly rub the spice mix onto the legs.
- Fold each pocket by bringing up the long sides of the foil, so the ends meet over the chicken leg. Double fold the ends, leaving room for heat to circulate inside. Then double fold the two short ends to seal the packet.
- Place the foil packets onto a foil lined sheet pan. Bake for 1 hour 30 minutes.
- While the chicken bakes, prepare the glaze. Combine the honey, soy sauce, ginger, and chili flakes in a small pot.
- Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer, stirring regularly, for about 20 minutes or until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Remove the pot from the heat and mix in the lemon juice. Set aside and let cool. The sauce will thicken further once cooled.
- After 1 hour and 30 minutes remove the chicken from the oven. Carefully open the packets (beware of hot steam). Lift the chicken from the juices and place the chicken back on the foil-lined baking sheet. Discard the parcels and juices.
- (Optional) You can add some vegetables on the side of the chicken if you prefer.
- Turn the broiler on and brush a thick layer of glaze over each chicken leg. Broil for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the glaze thickens and bubbles. Remove the baking sheet and apply another layer of glaze, and broil for another 3 to 5 minutes, or until the skin is sticky and blistered.
- Serve hot as a main dish.
Recipe looks great but respectfully ask you to rethink your promotion and use of aluminum foil. Absolutely terrible for our environment in every way, from mining to manufacture to waste disposal. And unnecessary for this Recipe. I ask this with respect. Your recipes and writing are truly wonderful. Thank you 😊
Good grief, there’s always got to be ONE in every recipe site. If you don’t like the method, then use the alternative of your choice. She’s not promoting anything. Free will. You do you.
You go girl… I hear ya..!! (smiling)
Hi Maggie,I tried this dish last night and was so nice.I didn’t have any chicken leg quarters so I guess some times you have to substitute so I used chicken breast as was so keen to see what it tasted like.It was beautiful and I added Green Onions and Onions peppers as vegetables.I did get Adventurous to and had it on rice and was very nice.Thank You again Maggie.
The recipe seems great. I have used many of your recipes in the past. Unfortunately, I think you are on the edge of making your website too much trouble to use with obnoxious ads that covers content and can’t be closed, shameless promotions and the inability to even copy a list of ingredients for making personal notes.
This was absolutely delicious and so easy! I’m definitely making this again.
Maggie I just wanted to say I LOVE your recipes and websites – we cook from them at least once a week (often times more!) Thank you for always creating these beautiful, delicious, and approachable recipes!