The taste of this Blackberry Fennel Chicken is both intriguing and unique; your palate won’t know what to do with itself!
This Blackberry Fennel Chicken recipe was born out of a desire to use our blackberries before the season ended. Fall is upon us and the time for blackberry picking is near its end.
While it is fun to freeze or make jam out of the berries, we wanted to create a good chicken recipe using blackberries. We started to formulate a recipe.
What to do with all that Fennel?
We have Fennel in our garden that has been there for several years! It keeps coming back and spreading like a weed. The first year, we used the fennel and cooked it on the grill (that was pretty tasty!) but we haven’t used it for any recipes since.
The only ones getting any enjoyment out of the fennel are the bees! The flowers are covered with bees so drunk from the pollen that they just lay there, buzzing happily.
Ok, we made the buzzing happily up, but really, the bees absolutely adore fennel. Hey, we’re doing our part in saving the most important species on the planet!
Seriously, we really had no idea of what to even use fennel in for cooking, with the exception of grilling it. We decided to be brave and pair the fennel with the blackberries to create our Blackberry Fennel Chicken recipe.
Giving credit where its due
Thankfully, other people are more educated about fennel then us Morgan sisters! If you want to know in depth detail on fennel and all the ways to prepare it, then we highly suggest you go check out this site: https://www.loveandlemons.com/what-is-fennel/!
We are very impressed with how they have their food blog set up! Check them out sometime. We don’t mind, we like their site too.
The making of our Blackberry Fennel Chicken
We gathered our blackberries, then mixed the berries with a nice smokey BBQ sauce. We wanted a base that wouldn’t overpower the natural flavors! Next, we mixed and smushed the ingredients together.
Tip: Put aside a 1/2 cup of fresh blackberries for later.
Safety tip: Always wash your fruit and veggies prior to use.
The next step is prepping the chicken to go into the oven. We made a nice layer of fennel fronds to place the chicken on. Then, we covered the chicken with our blackberry BBQ sauce.
Somehow, we always end up with really thick pieces of chicken, so I usually end up with a baking time of 45 – 50 minutes. Time will vary on how thick your chicken breasts are. When they come out of the oven, let them rest for a few minutes before serving.
Safety Tip: use a meat thermometer if possible to ensure meat is done
Prior to plating the chicken, we scrapped off the Fennel fronds from the bottom of the chicken. Once plated, we used the extra Blackberry BBQ sauce to coat the chicken, then garnished with fresh blackberries.
We added our own purple cauliflower from the garden and a nice ripe sliced cantaloupe to complete our dinner. Talk about a beautiful picture!
Wrap up and last minute thoughts on our Blackberry Fennel Chicken
The Blackberry Fennel chicken came out juicy and tender. The combination of blackberries and fennel added a mild sweet flavor while the BBQ sauce and spices added a mild zip to the mix.
All in all, it came out really good. Next time, we will dig up a fennel bulb, and, depending on the size, cut it into eighths to roast with the chicken.
For dessert, how about adding a nice blackberry galette to the menu? See our recipe!
https://www.morgansistersrecipes.com/blackberry-galette-recipe-review-using-fresh-blackberries/
Blackberry Fennel Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 1/2 cups of your favorite bbq sauce
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 2 cups fresh blackberries (save some to top chicken with )
- fennel fronds, enough to cover the bottom of the baking dish
- salt and pepper to taste ( optional )
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Make a layer of the fennel fronds in the bottom of an 11x7, 9x9, or 8x8 inch baking pan. Place the chicken breasts on top of the fennel fronds.
- In a small bowl, combine the blackberries and bbq sauce, mashing the berries into the sauce. Reserve 1/2 cup of the sauce. Pour the remaining mixture over the chicken breasts.
- Cover the pan tightly with foil, and place in the oven. Bake at 375 F for 35 to 40 minutes, depending on the thickness of the chicken, Check with a meat thermometer, make sure that it reads 165 F in the middle.
- Serve with some of the reserved sauce spooned over the top, along with the reserved fresh berries.
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Tanya Morgan 
