My Aunt Vicki’s Chicken Savoy

Chicken Savoy is a New Jersey Italian American dish of browned (baked) dark-meat chicken pieces in an herby vinegar-y sauce. My family has deep roots in the New Jersey area and while we are not Italian, this is something my Aunt Vicki makes really well. This is her recipe, made up from combining her favorite parts of various Chicken Savoy recipes.

The chicken is super savory and tender and it is very easy to make- just takes a bit of margination time. (Get this recipe started the night before).

Ingredients:

• 3-4 lbs of dark meat chicken (legs and bone-in, skin-on thighs are preferred)

• 1/2 cup of olive oil

• 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar

• 1/4 cup of soy sauce

• 1/4 cup of Worchester sauce

• 1/2 cup of lemon juice

• 3/4 cup of brown sugar

• 2 tsp of dried rosemary (fresh rosemary also works, just chop it finely)

• 2 tsp of dried oregano

• 2 tsp of dried thyme (fresh thyme also works, just chop it finely)

• 2 tbsp of Dijon mustard

• 2 tbsp of garlic powder

• 2 tbsp of onion powder

In a large bowl, mix your marinade ingredients (everything above minus the chicken) together making sure the brown sugar is dissolved.

The night before you want to make your chicken, put your chicken in a plastic bag and add all of the marinade; reserving 1 - 2 cups for basting. Keep it in the refrigerator until you are ready to cook.

Remove your bag of marinating chicken from the refrigerator about 20 minutes before you want to start cooking.

Preheat your oven to 425F.

Place your chicken parts on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Toss the marinade that the chicken was sitting in over night and pull out your reserved (not contaminated) marinade. Baste the chicken pieces before your put them in the oven with a pastry brush.

Bake for about 1 - 1.5 hours or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165F, basting every 15 minutes or so. You want the chicken to be super tender, sticky and well flavored.