This honey mustard chicken is a warm autumn dish perfect for your family.
honey mustard chicken with beer gravy
Delicious beer gravy swimming in the sweetness of honey and savoury flavour of the chicken.
This recipe is a wholesome and homey recipe. It is our family's favourite, and can easily be your family favourite as well. It is a 40 minute meal, and can easily be whipped out on to the table with no hesitation.
Go over to my Traditional Hong Kong Curry Chicken recipe if you're looking for Asian flare chicken recipe with hints of lemongrass, coconut, and mild curry flavour.
This post is all about honey mustard chicken. It is an easy recipe with a delicious gravy - perfect for any cold weather.
Why you will love this recipe
- Everyone loves it, including kids - When I have some chicken in the fridge and needs to be prepared quickly, this recipe is the one I always go for. The kids LOVE this (even when there's a slight beer taste), and they always ask to put more sauce on the rice.
- So Delicious - there's something magical about beer and chicken cooked together. The aroma is intoxicating and trust me, it will draw people in the kitchen asking what you're preparing if they don't know it yet.
- Easy recipe - Literally you just marinate the chicken, lay the chicken on the skillet, and deglaze the pan with some beer! In 40 minutes, your meal is ready to be served and devoured!
Beer in the gravy, is it safe for children?
Short answer, it is safe. Because we are cooking the beer with the chicken, the alcohol burns off while the chicken is cooking. All that is left is just the beer flavour which is not overpowering, and kids don't mind it. We are only adding half a can of beer so it is not a lot.
You can always choose to add a quarter of the can, or none, if you don't want your children tasting beer. Without the beer, the gravy is still incredibly delicious and thick with flavour.
Ingredients
Chicken
This recipe we call for only chicken legs and thighs. Of course you can use chicken breast as well. Honestly any part of the chicken part can be used for this recipe. I tend to buy the whole chicken leg and at home I separate the thighs and drumsticks apart before I marinate them.
Marinate
We are using salt and honey to marinate the chicken. I tend to let it sit on the counter for at least 15 minutes. The salt helps give the chicken more flavour and the honey is always too thick. Once it is in contact with the salt and chicken, the honey breaks down to a more watery consistency which is easier to handle.
Beer
Beer helps tenderize the chicken so you don't need to worry about the chicken drying out while it cooks. Perfect gravy for all part of the chicken, especially the chicken breast since it dries out easily. With beer in the sauce, you don't need to worry about that!
Mustard
We are using both regular mustard condiment and mustard seed. If you don't have mustard, Dijon mustard can also work. Mustard gives this dish tons of flavour and texture.
Pro Tip #1 - Use a skillet
I love using cast iron skillet for this recipe. Number one, it gives even heat in all area of the pan so you know the chicken is cooking evenly. Chicken drumsticks and thighs are a bit hard to cook because there's a bone in the centre which requires more time. I find the skillet always brown and cook the chicken perfectly and its one of my favourite pans to use.
The cast iron skillet I am using is the Lodged Pre-seasoned Skillet.
Pro Tip #2 - Marinate the meat
Give the salt, honey, and mustard some time to get to know the chicken. The more time these ingredients get to know each other, the more flavour gets penetrated into the chicken. Trust me, a minimum of 15 minutes will guarantee your chicken will be more tasty.
Pro Tip #3 - Type of beer to use
What's your favourite beer? Use that one. Since you know the flavour of the beer, use the one you have or the one you like. Since we are only using half a can, drink the other half.
If you're asking me for recommendation, I always go for the lager beer. Here in Mexico, I tend to use Modelo. I find light beer gives it more of a crisp taste, and light beer is perfect for children. Any darker beer, might be too much flavour for children.
Honey Mustard Chicken with Beer Gravy
Ingredients
Chicken Marinate
- ½ kg chicken drumstick and thighs cleaned and pat dry, skin on
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 1½ tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp mustard
- ½ can light lager beer
Gravy Sauce
- 2 tbsp butter
- ½ white onion chopped
- 2 garlic clove minced
- 1½ cups water
- 3 tbsp mustard seed
- ¼ cup cream
- rosemary garnish
Instructions
Chicken Marinate
- In a large mixing bowl, add the chicken, salt, honey, and beer together. Make sure it is mix evenly. Let it sit on the counter for at least 15 minutes.
To cook the chicken
- Put the skillet on medium high heat. Melt the butter and add the onion and garlic until it is soft, 2 minutes.
- Carefully take the chicken with tongs and set it on the skillet. Reserve the beer marinate
- Burn the surface of the chicken for 5 minutes each side until slightly brown.
- Once both sides are brown, add the beer marinate with the mustard. Also add the water. Put a lid on top of the skillet and let it cook on medium for 25 minutes.
- For the last 5 minutes of cooking, take the lid off and add the cream.
- Find a large dish that is deep, and carefully place the chicken on the dish. Pour the sauce over the chicken and garnish with rosemary.
