BBQ roasted chicken with cherry jalapeno sauce

Ingredients

For the chicken

• 1½ pounds chicken thighs with skin, bone in
• salt & pepper
• 1 tablespoon butter
• ¼ cup BBQ sauce
• For the cherry jalapeno sauce
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large shallot, thinly siced
• 1 large jalapeno, seeds removed and minced
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 1 cup tart frozen cherries
• ¼ cup dried cherries
• 2 tablespoon chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• ½ tablespoon cornstarch
• ½ tablespoon water
• salt & pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Heat butter in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.
Season both sides of the chicken generously with salt & pepper.
Once butter is melted and skillet is hot, add the chicken skin side down and pan sear for about 5-7 minutes until golden brown and crispy.
Flip the chicken over, spoon the BBQ sauce on top of the chicken and spread evenly over the skin side with a spoon.
Transfer the skillet to the oven and roast for 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
For the cherry jalapeno sauce
Once the chicken is in the oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat in medium sauce pot.
Add the shallots and jalapeno and saute for 3 minutes until softened.
Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, until fragrant.
Add both cherries, broth and brown sugar, mix and bring to a simmer.
Let the sauce simmer and cook down for 10 minutes.
Mix the cornstarch and water together in a small bowl. Add the slurry to the sauce and stir until thickened, about 1 minute.
Remove the sauce from the heat. Use an immersion blender to blend the sauce a bit, leaving a few chunks of cherries. Alternatively, you can do this in a normal blender or food processor or, just leave the sauce as is.
Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper.
Spoon the sauce over the chicken and serve.