Balsamic Chicken

This easy marinade will make your everyday chicken dinner, something extraordinary. Recipe adapted from Giada De Laurentis, Everyday Italian: 125 Simple and Delicious Recipes

Ingredients:

Instructions:

In a large bowl whisk together:

1 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 cup balsamic vinegar

¹/₂ cup lemon juice

¹/₂ cup dijon mustard

3 garlic cloves , crushed

2 tsp salt

2 tsp black pepper, ground

Add to the marinade:

6 chicken thighs

6 chicken drumsticks

Turn the chicken pieces to coat, cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to one day. The longer it marinates, the better.
Preheat oven to 400ºF.
Place the chicken on a broiler pan and bake uncovered for 30 mins.
Change the temperature to 500ºF on broil and cook until browned, about 7 minutes.
Turn chicken over and brown the other side for another 7 minutes.
Transfer just the chicken to your seving platter and keep covered with foil.
Pour the remaining juice into a small saucepan and boil until the liquid thickens, about 10 minutes. You can spoon out the excess oil on top, or use a fat separator to remove the oil.
Add the balsamic sauce to the chicken and serve.

Balsamic Chicken Detail

Prep Time: 5 min
Cook Time: 45 min
Inactive Time: 2 hour - 1 day marinate time
Difficulty: Easy
Servings: 6
Serving Size: 1 thigh & 1 drumstick

Serving Suggestions: Serve with steamed veggies or sun-dried tomato pesto (pictured above with balsamic chicken breast).

Cooking Tips: You can also use this marinade for 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts. But, instead of broiling it, cook the marinated chicken breasts in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook each side until browned, approximately 5-7 minutes. Add 1/4 cup of mariinade to browned chicken and bring to boil. Then reduce heat to low and simmer with the skillet covered until the inside of the chicken is cooked, another 15-20 minutes.