A few months ago, I walked into Crate and Barrel  just to “browse,” and walked out with some new kitchen goodies, including a recipe card courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis.  I love me some balsamic vinegar, and this recipe for caramelized  chicken sounded too good not to try:

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup soy sauce

5 sprigs rosemary

5 cloves garlic, halved

10 to 12 chicken drumsticks

2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Combine the balsamic vinegar, honey, brown sugar, soy sauce, rosemary springs and garlic cloves in a large, re-sealable plastic bag.  Shake and squeeze the contents of the bag to dissolve the honey and the brown sugar.  Add the chicken drumsticks to the bag and seal with as little air as possible in the bag.  Place in the refrigerator and marinate for 2 hours.

Place the chicken drumsticks on a foil-lined baking sheet.  Bake until the skin is caramelized and very dark in spots, about 30to 35 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the marinade in a small saucepan.  Bring the marinade to a boil (in order to ill bacteria).  Reduce the heat to simmer and cook over low heat until thick, about 15 minutes; reserve.  Brush some of the cooked marinade on the coked chicken.  Place the chicken on a serving platter.  Sprinkle with the sesame seeds and the chopped parsley.

Note from Giada: I like the subtle rosemary and garlic flavors.  Brushing the cooked drumettes with the reduced marinade helps the flavors along.  Also, re-moistening helps the parsley and the seeds to adhere.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

The ingredients lined up and ready to go (minus the chicken and toasted sesame seeds)

The chicken drumsticks going for a swim in the marinade

These little sesame seeds toasted very quickly.  Keep an eye on them in the toaster oven, or you might end up with blacked seeds instead!

Yum, raw meat

Boiling and simmering the marinade made my kitchen smell wonderful–a thick atmosphere of balsamic vinegar and rosemary.  Seriously, I can’t get enough of it.

The 2 hour marinating time was perfect for a late and lazy Sunday afternoon.  It was enough time to get some laundry done (and of course, watch some “Everyday Italian” that was backed up on my DVR:))

The title of the recipe says drumettes, but the ingredient list asks for drumsticks.  Definitely go with drumsticks.  There is more than enough marinade to go around for 12 drumsticks.

The finished product.  I love the fresh, crisp smell of parsley, so I put a little more on than the recipe would dictate.

Post-dinner verdict: the chicken is incredibly moist, and even with all of the flavorful ingredients, the taste isn’t overwhelming.  Most take a subtle backseat to the balsamic vinegar (which I am of course incredibly happy about) and rosemary.

I’m curious to see how the fresh parsley holds up through refrigeration and reheating for tomorrow’s lunch.  I’ll pack a few of these up in some foil and toss them into the toaster oven at work.

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