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Honey Balsamic chicken skewers

Cooked yakitori style, a mixture of honey and Balsamic vinegar is brushed repeatedly on skewered chicken in lieu of Japanese tare.

Honey balsamic chicken skewers sprinkled with parsley and toasted sesame seeds, and served with lime slices on the side

Five minutes to prepare and ten minutes to cook, these honey balsamic chicken skewers can be served as an appetizer, main course or finger food to accompany your summer cocktail drinks.

Is an outdoor grill required? Nope. A stovetop grill will work beautifully if it’s too hot for outdoor grilling. In fact, any wide flat cooking pan will work.

A few tips about the chicken. Chicken breast fillets were used here. Because they can dry up fast during cooking, the chicken was tossed with a generous amount of olive oil to keep the meat moist. I prefer the slices to be just a little less than half an inch. If the chicken is sliced too thinly, the likelihood that they will dry out is high despite having been tossed in olive oil.

Pieces of chicken breast fillet threaded with bamboo skewers

How many pieces of chicken per skewer? Depends on the length of your skewers. If using bamboo skewers and grilling over charcoal, soak the skewers in water 30 minutes before threading the chicken to prevent the bamboo from catching fire on the grill.

Pan grilling skewered chicken

When you start grilling, sear the chicken first before brushing the sauce. It’s just like browning meat before braising or stewing. Allowing the natural sugars in the meat to caramelize will give the chicken meat better flavor and texture.

Brushing skewered chicken with honey and Balsamic vinegar during grilling

When brushing the sauce on the surface of the browned chicken meat, don’t be tempted to brush too much thinking that more is better. Brush just enough but brush repeatedly while turning the skewers over several times during cooking. Allow the chicken meat to soak up the sauce first then give the sauce time of caramelize before brushing more.

Honey Balsamic chicken skewers

Connie Veneracion
Don't rely on the sauce to flavor the chicken meat all the way through. Cooking time is too short to allow the chicken to soak up the flavors. You need to salt and pepper the chicken before threading them with the skewers. And remember to add oil to prevent the breast meat from drying up during cooking.
Honey Balsamic chicken skewers arranged on a blue embossed serving plate
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Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 10 mins
Total Time 20 mins
Course Appetizer, Main Course
Cuisine Fusion
Servings 4 people

Ingredients
  

  • 600 grams chicken breast fillets - skinless
  • 1 ½ teaspoons salt
  • ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil - (doesn't have to be extra virgin)
  • ¼ cup honey
  • ¼ cup Balsamic vinegar

Instructions
 

  • Wipe the chicken breast fillets thoroughly to remove as much surface moisture as possible.
  • Cut the fillets into slices then cut each slice into bite size pieces.
  • Place the chicken slices in a bowl, add the salt, pepper and olive oil. Mix well until the chicken has absorbed the oil.
  • Thread four to five pieces of chicken per skewer.
  • Mix the honey and Balsamic vinegar together.
  • Heat the grill (charcoal, stovetop or skillet) and arrange the chicken skewers at least an inch apart.
  • Leave for a minute to allow the undersides of the chicken to brown slightly then flip over.
  • With the browned sides now on top, start brushing the chicken with the honey-Balsamic mixture.
  • Flip the chicken skewers after about 45 seconds and brush the opposite sides.
  • Repeat the flipping and brushing every 45 seconds or so until the chicken slices are cooked through and the sauce has caramelized well.
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Keyword Chicken skewers

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