Grilled Honey Balsamic Chicken Skewers
Who doesn't love grilling? I personally LOVE it...well let me clarify, I love to watch my husband grill because that's his domain in our house. I prep the food, write the recipes, get everything ready and both he and my son absolutely love getting their hands dirty with the charcoal and cleaning the grates, and the stoking of the fire. I think it's a primal dude thing or something? Ask my 7 year old son about his feelings on fire, and he'll bend your ear for a good ten minutes about how when he get's big like daddy in high school then he can do all sorts of adult things like drive a car, shave, and most importantly MAKE A FIRE. It's strange, this innate love.
The thing I love most about grilling is that it also tends to draw people in to your home - remember when people used to come over and it was ok??? Back pre-COVID, we’d start a weekend off by saying, "hmmm...what do you want to do today? I don't know, you wanna grill something? Sure, you wanna invite so and so over?" And from then on it would become an EVENT. Grilling sparks events, relationships, interactions with your friends. Inviting people over to stand around your kitchen and watch chicken bake in the oven isn't near as much fun as standing around the patio and drinking a cold one while smelling those delicious flavors coming together. It's magic. One day, I know we’ll have people over again, I just know it!
It's also so dang fast! Things that can take 45 minutes in the oven, can take like 10 on the grill, and plus you get that smoky, charred, almost carmelized flavor that you seriously can't recreate with something like Liquid Smoke. Ahhhh, its heaven. These grilled chicken skewers are seriously some of my favorite things to throw on the grill on a Saturday evening. They have a sweet but tangy flavor, and the honey glaze really cooks up beautifully over the open flame.
A few pointers on these guys.
1) Make sure if you're using wooden skewers that you pre-soak them at least 30 minutes or so prior to cooking--you want to make sure they don't burn.
2) I highly recommend marinating the chicken for a few hours or more. Minimum of 30 minutes here folks, but to really get that flavor and coating I left mine in overnight! I know I know, that's a bit extreme when you are in to time-friendly meals, but they're super easy to get ready the night before and throw on the grill the next day. The magic is the marinade ya'll.
#3) I pair these skewers with a good tangy BBQ sauce, but these little guys go great by themselves with a simple side salad or grilled veggie skewers. Super simple people! So go fire up that grill and Zoom invite your people over to watch you grill from a distance until finally we can have the real deal one day soon.
Grilled Honey Balsamic Chicken Skewers
Ingredients:
1.5-2 lbs chicken thighs (defrosted)
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup dijon
3 garlic cloves (minced)
Directions:
Cut chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces, set aside.
In a bowl, combine honey, balsamic, dijon and garlic into a bowl and mix well to combine.
In a large ziploc bag, place your chicken thighs and cover with marinade. Seal bag and coat thoroughly, and then place in fridge, laying flat to marinade for a minimum of 30 minutes up to overnight.
When ready to cook, assemble chicken thigh pieces on pre-soaked skewers (ours made approximately 8 skewers).
Cook skewers over a hot grill, approximately 3-4 minutes per side or until cooked through.
ENJOY!