Description
Sweet and Spicy Baked Chicken is a flavorful dish featuring tender chicken breasts baked in a tangy and slightly sweet sauce made with ketchup, vinegar, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and spices. The chicken is slow-baked covered in the oven to soak up the rich sauce, resulting in juicy, pull-apart meat perfect for serving over rice or buckwheat kasha.
Ingredients
Scale
Chicken
- 4 chicken breasts
Sauce
- 3 Tbsp ketchup
- 2 Tbsp vinegar
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 Tbsp melted butter
- 3 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp dry mustard
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp chili powder
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 450°F (232°C) to prepare for baking the chicken.
- Prepare Sauce: In a saucepan, combine ketchup, vinegar, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, water, melted butter, brown sugar, dry mustard, salt, and chili powder. Stir well and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes to meld the flavors, then remove from heat and set aside.
- Coat Chicken: Arrange the 4 chicken breasts in a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Pour the prepared sauce over the chicken and use tongs to ensure each piece is well coated with the sauce.
- Bake Covered: Cover the baking dish tightly with aluminum foil. Bake in the preheated oven at 450°F for 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350°F (177°C) and continue baking, covered, for 1 hour and 30 minutes without turning the chicken.
- Shred Chicken: Remove the chicken from the oven. Using two forks, pull the chicken breasts apart into shredded pieces that will soak up the sauce and remain juicy and flavorful.
- Serve: Serve the shredded sweet and spicy baked chicken over cooked rice or buckwheat kasha for a delicious meal.
Notes
- Covering the dish while baking keeps the chicken moist and allows it to soak up the sauce.
- You can adjust the amount of chili powder to control the spiciness according to your preference.
- Serving with a grain like rice or buckwheat kasha complements the flavors and soaks up the extra sauce beautifully.
- Leftovers can be refrigerated and gently reheated without drying out.
