seasoned with 1 1⁄2 teaspoons sea salt or kosher salt as soon as you get home from the market
2 1⁄2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar (not aged)
2 Tablespoons unrefined, cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil
3 Tablespoons dry white wine
1⁄2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 Tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
1⁄2 cup fresh cranberries or rehydrated** dried cranberries
Optional: rind of one orange
Instructions
Season the chicken with salt as soon as you get home from the market, up to 2 days, and refrigerate.
In a non-reactive container just big enough to hold the chicken, whisk together the vinegar, oil, white wine, pepper and thyme. (Add salt if you didn't pre-salt the chicken in advance.) Place the chicken in the container and toss to coat. Allow to marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes or in the refrigerator up to overnight.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Transfer the chicken pieces and any marinade to a baking dish that just fits the chicken pieces, such as an 11 x 7-inch or 13 x 9-inch. Scatter whole cranberries around chicken and orange rind, if using. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until cooked through and browned on top. You can take the temperature of the thickest part of the chicken pieces and they should be 160-165 degrees. Allow to rest, covered, for 5-10 minutes before carving/serving. Personally, I like to remove the bones from the breasts and slice them crosswise into thick slices before serving.
Notes
*such as 2 breasts, and 2 drumsticks. If you have a full service butcher, another option is get a whole chicken and have the butcher cut the bird into 8 pieces. Use the breasts, thighs, and legs for this recipe and save the backbone and wings for stock. **soak the dried cranberries in hot water for 10 minutes Notes: this can also be done with salmon marinated for 10 minutes and cooked at 400 degrees for 10 minutes per inch of thickness. Skip the additional whole cranberries which won’t cook in time. You can add rehydrated dried cranberries. You can also add sliced red onion to the baking dish to cook with the chicken.
Recipe by Pamela Salzman at https://pamelasalzman.com/cranberry-balsamic-chicken-recipe/