Sweet & Sticky Chicken Drumsticks

(I realize it’s now Wednesday and still no TWD post on the blog. I promise that I’m working on it and hopefully I’ll get it up on the blog before the day ends. See, I told you I was a procrastinator…)

Recently I borrowed a copy of Giada’s newest cookbook, Giada’s Kitchen, from my library. I went through and tagged a ton of recipes I wanted to try and this is the first one I got around to making, probably because it’s super easy. The recipe is actually in the “(not) just for kids” section of the cookbook and was designed to be something kids could help out with in the kitchen. Sometimes I just want something I can pull together without much effort and this recipe fits the bill.

One interesting thing about the recipe is that Giada reserves the marinade and reduces it to glaze the chicken after it bakes. I think people tend to have conflicting views on this practice of reusing the marinade after the raw meat sits in it. I found several sources which say that it’s fine so long as the marinade is boiled for an appropriate length of time and I found others which say you should never reuse a marinade. If you’re concerned about reusing a marinade, no need to skip the recipe – there’s enough marinade here that you could put a bit aside and use the rest to marinate the chicken. Later, just reduce the portion of the marinade you put aside.

We enjoyed the chicken but found it perhaps a bit too sweet. I would still make the recipe again because the flavor was nice but next time I’d probably cut back a little on the amount of honey or brown sugar, or maybe both.

Sweet & Sticky Chicken Drumsticks

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup soy sauce

5 fresh rosemary sprigs

5 garlic cloves, halved

10 to 12 chicken drumsticks

2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

Combine the vinegar, honey, brown sugar, soy sauce, rosemary sprigs and garlic cloves in a large, resealable plastic bag. Shake and squeeze the contents of the bag to dissolve the honey and the brown sugar. Add the chicken to the bag and seal, squeezing out as much air from them as possible. Marinate in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 450 F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Remove the chicken drumsticks from the bag, reserving the marinade, and arrange them on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until the skin is caramelized and very dark in spots, 30 to 35 minutes.

Meanwhile place the marinade in a small saucepan. Bring the marinade to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook over low heat until thick, about 15 minutes.

Use a pastry brush to brush some of the cooked marinade on the cooked chicken. Sprinkle the chicken with the sesame seeds and chopped parsley before serving.