Cooking Lesson: #350 Skewered Honey-Balsamic Chicken

…from the California Kitchen

How you doin’? To change things up, I like to make skewered dinners with any kind of meats—beef, pork or chicken. If you decide to have a skewered dinner, always remember to cook your meat and vegetables on separate skewers. Meats and veggies cook at different rates, and it is best to keep them separate to ensure each cooks properly.
 
You can use small 5-inch (or larger) bamboo skewers. I cook these skewers in a large non-stick sauté pan because of the amount of honey in the marinade. It will make a mess on your grill and I hate cleaning up stuck sugars on grills. This will make clean-up so much easier.
 
This luscious honey-balsamic chicken recipe makes a great appetizer or a main dish over rice. The Worcestershire adds the taste of salt. If you have soy sauce that will work just as well—just watch the sodium (salt) level. After the chicken is cooked through, lightly baste with a little extra honey to caramelize it a little longer for an extra touch of sweetness.
 
Evidence of the prehistoric use of skewers dates as far back as the Lower Paleolithic, and has been found at a 300,000-year-old site in Schöningen, Germany. A stick with a burnt tip was found to have been used to cook meat over a fire. That said, Iraq lays claim to the kebab among many other Middle Easterners who believe they invented it. The skewered meat dish appears as early as the 9th century in a book from the southern city of Basra called The Book of Misers.
 
Prep time:  10 minutes
Marinade time:  1 to 2 hours
Cook time:  8 to 10 minutes (4 to 5 minutes a side)
Yield:  4 to 6 servings
 
Ingredients
6 chicken thighs; skinless, boneless, trimmed
 
For the marinade
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons onion powder
3 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
4 tablespoons crushed garlic
1 tablespoon grated ginger
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil (Asian-style)
 
For the topping
Sesame seeds for sprinkling on top
Extra honey for basting
 
Directions

1. Cut the chicken thighs into 1-inch uneven pieces.
2. In a separate bowl, mix the all the marinade ingredients.
3. Pour over the chicken.  
4. Mix completely so that all the chicken pieces are covered. Let chicken marinate for 1 to 2 hours (not overnight).
5. Drain the marinade off the chicken and skewer a few chicken pieces onto each bamboo skewer (see ChefSecret).
6. Heat a non-stick pan on med high until hot.  Lower the heat to med/low and add a few skewers to the pan.
7. Cook thighs on one side for 4-5 minutes or until caramel brown. Turnover and cook second side until caramel brown. You will notice that as the chicken cooks, it first releases some liquid and then the liquid starts to caramelize. It will then coat the chicken. Make sure your heat is not too high when cooking the chicken.
8. Baste the chicken thighs with extra honey if you like and cook for an additional minute or so. Sprinkle sesame seeds and serve. 
9. Keep chicken thighs warm in a 200⁰ F oven while the remaining skewers cook.

ChefSecret:  To prevent the chicken from sticking to the skewers, soak them in water for a couple of hours before cooking. This also prevent skewers from burning if you cook on an open flame barbecue.
Quip of the Day: “Life rule: Vodka mixes well with everything… except decisions.”
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