Chicken with Balsamic BBQ Sauce

Stop what you are doing and make this barbecue sauce right now! It will change your life. It might be my new favorite barbecue sauce.

I used less ketchup and brown sugar than was called for in the original recipe because I hate overly sweet barbecue sauces and I really wanted the tang of the balsamic to shine through. I really love vinegar and balsamic in particular, but if you aren’t such a diehard vinegar fan, you might want to keep the full amount of brown sugar in the recipe.

The original recipe also says the barbecue sauce could be used over steak if that’s your thing. You also have a couple different options for cooking the chicken. I used a grill pan on the stove, but you could also use a real grill or bake it in the oven and it would be just as delicious. Luckily we had a ton of sauce left over and I ended put it on many various things and it just made everything so much better; grilled veggies, potatoes, it was all delicious.

Balsamic Barbecue Sauce (adapted from this recipe)

• 1 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 3 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the Balsamic Barbecue Sauce:

Combine all the ingredients in a small saucepan and stir until all the ingredients are incorporated and the mixture is smooth. Simmer over medium heat until reduced by 1/3, about 15 to 20 minutes.

For the Chicken:

Prepare the chicken. Season with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. Place grill pan over medium heat. Pour a bit of the barbecue sauce into a small bowl to avoid contamination from raw/cooking meat (yep, we’re a bit paranoid about getting salmonella in these parts). Lightly coat with some of the BBQ sauce using a pastry brush. Place the chicken on the grill. Cook the chicken about 8 minutes per side. Brush the chicken with BBQ sauce from the small, separate bowl every few minutes. Remove the meat from the grill and let rest for at least 5 minutes. Serve with the heated BBQ sauce alongside.