Roasted Chicken Legs with Quince

The aroma of roasting juicy chicken legs with the deliciously caramelized quince will warm your body and soul on a chilly autumn/winter day. With a tantalizing mix of cozy spices, mellow onions, red wine and woody thyme, this one pan dish is the ultimate blueprint for a comforting, deeply flavourful meal.
Quince is a hard, golden-yellow fruit related to apples and pears in the rose family. Raw quince is very hard, tart, woody and astringent, so the only way to eat quince is to cook it. When you cook a quince low and slow, it turns soft and sweet with a rich, floral flavour. They can be roasted or poached, or peeled, cored and sliced into pies, tarts, cakes and crisps and fantastic in savoury dishes too.


1 kg (4-5) Quinces, cored and cut into wedges or chunks 4 Whole chicken legs (or thighs or drumsticks) 4 tbsp Clarified butter or chicken schmalz 1 tsp Xylitol or sugar Salt and coarsely ground black pepper 1 tsp Cumin powder ½ tsp Allspice powder ½ tsp Chilli flakes plus more to garnish 1 Medium onion, peeled and chopped 400 ml Red wine of your choice (I used Spätburgunder) 1 Cinnamon stick 2 Bay leaves 3-4 Lemon thyme sprigs or regular thyme plus more to garnish 400-500 ml Chicken broth

1 kg (4-5) Quinces, cored and cut into wedges or chunks
4 Whole chicken legs (or thighs or drumsticks)
4 tbsp Clarified butter or chicken schmalz
1 tsp Xylitol or sugar
Salt and coarsely ground black pepper
1 tsp Cumin powder
½ tsp Allspice powder
½ tsp Chilli flakes plus more to garnish
1 Medium onion, peeled and chopped
400 ml Red wine of your choice (I used Spätburgunder)
1 Cinnamon stick
2 Bay leaves
3-4 Lemon thyme sprigs or regular thyme plus more to garnish
400-500 ml Chicken broth

Do not peel the quinces. Rub off all the fuzz with a damp paper towel, and wash them. Quarter the quinces and remove the core with a sharp knife. Cut into wedges or chunks.
Heat 2 tablespoons of clarified butter over medium heat in a large frying pan. Season the chicken legs with salt, pepper, cumin and allspice. Add the chicken legs and brown, turning once, for about 8-10 minutes. Remove the chicken to an oven tray.
At the same pan, add the remaining clarified butter. Add the quince and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add xylitol or sugar and cook for another 5 minutes until they are browned. Remove and add the quince around the chicken legs.
Preheat the oven to 200C/400F. Add the onion to the pan and fry until aromatic, then pour in the red wine and scrape up any caramelized bits at the bottom of the pan. add the cinnamon stick, bay leaves and lemon thyme. Pour in the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Pour the liquid over the chicken legs and quince.
Bake the chicken and quince for 40-50 minutes until the chicken and quince are tender. Garnish with extra lemon thyme or parsley and sprinkle with a little extra chilli flakes. Serve immediately.

7 comments:

foodtravelandwine 28/10/26 13:38: What a great combination!....it looks so tender!!....Abrazotes, Marcela
Tom 28/10/26 13:38: Quince should add some zing.
DEZMOND 28/10/26 15:27: Tis the season of quince.
Lola Martínez 28/10/26 15:41: El membrillo está de temporada, es una buena idea utilizarlo en nuestras recetas. Con este pollo brillarán los sabores de otoño.
Christine 28/10/26 16:21: Delicious
Judee 28/10/26 17:43: Lovely photos of the recipe! My husband loves quince- a great way to use it.
Brian's Home Blog 28/10/26 18:20: I don't recall ever having quinces but the chicken sure looks great!