Tomato-Balsamic Marinated Chicken

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.

Comments

[Celeste]

I love it when a new favorite is born.

[shannon]

what exactly do you mean by tomato juice?

[Helen]

The pictures here always look delicious.

[Angela]

Yum! Do you use the other half of the marinade for basting or save it for a rainy day?

[jen]

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!

[Julia]

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.

[Floyd]

This sounds awesome. I'm always looking for new ways to do chicken.

[S]

looks and sounds yummy! I am gonna give it a try, too.

[colleen]

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.

[Ruth]

Hi- I'm a linguistically challenged reader from England. What do you mean by 'wing drummies?' Wings and drumsticks? Looks tasty anyway....

[Kim]

That is gorgeous. Just had to say.

[Julia]

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.

[K]

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.

[Alexicographer]

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.

[Alexicographer]

ps this sauce, er, marinade, might also be good on salmon, or tuna steaks.

[invierta proyectos]

looks delicious!