Tomato-Balsamic Marinated Chicken
08/19/2009
While I was in the process of trying to make grocery store grape tomatoes taste like something I went through a few iterations of tomato-balsamic reduction. In the end I had a dressing I liked for the tomatoes and three pans full of a sort of glaze/marinade leftover. I put it all into an empty jelly jar and let it sit on the counter while I figured out what to do with it. Then Steve graciously volunteered to go grocery shopping for us and he came home with an item I have never purchased before, chicken wing drummies.
What the... ? I like a buffaloed wing as much as the next person but without a deep-fat fryer it just isn't the same. So for a lack of anything better to do I threw the drummies into my tomato-balsamic marinade and we grilled them for dinner.
Patrick said, "THIS is delicious." And it was.
Tomato-Balsamic Marinated Chicken
24 chicken wing drummies
1.5 c tomato juice
3 T balsamic vinegar
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
6 T olive oil
In a saucepan combine tomato juice, vinegar and garlic. Bring to a low boil/rapid simmer and cook until it reduces by about a third. Off the heat whisk in olive oil. Let cool.
Pour half of the marinade into a large bowl, add the chicken and toss thoroughly to coat. Refrigerate for two hours (or less if you have less time.)
Grill over medium heat for 12-15 minutes, turning three or four times as they cook.
Edited to add: oh damn it! I forgot to say, after grilling pour the reserved marinade over the chicken and serve. The serve part is probably intuitive but the marinade as sauce thing was not.
I love it when a new favorite is born.
Posted by: Celeste | 08/19/2009 at 01:48 PM
what exactly do you mean by tomato juice?
Posted by: shannon | 08/19/2009 at 02:17 PM
The pictures here always look delicious.
Posted by: Helen | 08/19/2009 at 02:18 PM
Yum! Do you use the other half of the marinade for basting or save it for a rainy day?
Posted by: Angela | 08/19/2009 at 02:28 PM
Did you leave the skin on the drummies? It looks like it but that is one reason I won't eat them, as most of the time there is too much fatty skin. But it looks delicious!
Posted by: jen | 08/19/2009 at 03:40 PM
Canned tomato juice. My grocery store sells them in little cans or individual 12 ounce sizes - always reminds me of being on an airplane which is the only time I ever drink tomato juice, personally.
I had never encountered a drummie in its pre-buffaloed form so, yes, I just kept the skin on. Ours weren't overwhelmingly fatty but you could always pull the skin off after grilling and pour the sauce on after. I think it might be nice.
Posted by: Julia | 08/19/2009 at 04:51 PM
This sounds awesome. I'm always looking for new ways to do chicken.
Posted by: Floyd | 08/20/2009 at 08:05 AM
looks and sounds yummy! I am gonna give it a try, too.
Posted by: S | 08/20/2009 at 08:22 AM
Chard! (Responding to the last post). This is my go-to recipe for using chard. It's a big hit w/ my picky kids, and an easy recipe. We use lamb b/c it's local (we live in VT), but ground beef would be just as good. And it uses chicken broth! (one of my favorite kitchen items, too)
1 lb. lamb
1 egg
1/4 C bread crumbs
1/4 t. dried thyme
1 med onion, diced
2 T olive oil
1 quart chicken broth
1 bunch chard, thinly sliced
1 lb. bag frozen cheese tortellini (or plain pasta)
Mix lamb, egg, bread crumbs and thyme and shape into meatballs. Saute onion in olive oil until translucent. Add meatballs and brown 5-10 min (so they won't fall apart). (You can drain some/all of the grease at this point for a somewhat healthier meal.) Add chard and saute until wilted. Add chicken broth and water to taste (depends if you want it more like a stew or a soup). Bring to a boil. Add cheese tortellini (or pasta) and lower heat to medium. Simmer until pasta is cooked through. Ladle into bowls and serve with sprinkled parmesan cheese. Serves 6.
Posted by: colleen | 08/20/2009 at 09:01 AM
Hi- I'm a linguistically challenged reader from England. What do you mean by 'wing drummies?' Wings and drumsticks? Looks tasty anyway....
Posted by: Ruth | 08/20/2009 at 09:16 AM
That is gorgeous. Just had to say.
Posted by: Kim | 08/20/2009 at 10:21 AM
Huh, I don't know if they are even really called drummies. Did I make that up? Steve brought home a package of what look like miniature drumsticks but are actually the first joint of the wing.
They're kinda cute, if I can say that about an entree.
Posted by: Julia | 08/20/2009 at 10:31 AM
Those look delicious!
Around here the stores call them drumettes. We were eating them a lot last year... not sure why we haven't had them much recently. Have to add them back into the rotation to try this.
Posted by: K | 08/21/2009 at 03:10 PM
This looks great.
Were someone so blasee about following recipe instructions (or reading titles) that she failed to notice the word "Marinade" (in the title!), made the (no-longer-a) "marinade" while failing to notice one doesn't put the oil in until reducing and after removing it from the heat, and then went on to dump this on 2 chicken breasts cooking on low heat in a skillet, more or less following Julia's instructions from there on out (because, eh, it's never too late to start), she would, it turns out, end up with a pretty decent dish -- served over rice, cooked in the same pot as the (not a) marinade was reduced in, so pleasantly lightly flavored.
Not that anyone would *be* so blasee. If I had it to do over again, though, I'd use thighs as breasts (even bone in, skin on, as I used) dry out too quickly.
Posted by: Alexicographer | 08/21/2009 at 08:51 PM
ps this sauce, er, marinade, might also be good on salmon, or tuna steaks.
Posted by: Alexicographer | 08/21/2009 at 08:52 PM
looks delicious!
Posted by: invierta proyectos | 02/11/2010 at 12:35 PM