Weekend Cooking: Barbecued Raspberry-Hoisin Chicken

I did it! I finally found something different for Miss Picky! Usually I can only make flat chicken, as she calls it. Cutlets, pounded until it's so thin you can practically see through it. She tasted the dipping sauce first, and proceeded to have two skewers of chicken chicken chunks. Definitely a keeper. A bona fide hit! I pretty much stuck to the recipe, except I added a few tablespoons of soy sauce to the marinade. The Griller was careful and used medium heat instead of the usual "char and destroy" setting!

Didn't have scallions so I used chives from my garden! Spring is right around the corner, the mints are starting to show, too! And the Rosemary survived all the blizzards! It'll be so nice not to grill with a winter coat on, and even nicer to be using things from the garden finally!

Barbecued Raspberry-Hoisin Chicken
Source: from EatingWell: July / August 2007
Adapted by There's Always Thyme to Cook
Printable Recipe

1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
3/4 cup hoisin sauce
5 tablespoons rice vinegar, divided
3 tablespoons soy sauce sauce
1 clove garlic
1 strip (2-by-1/2-inch) orange zest, or grated zest
1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Pinch of crushed red pepper
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed, each cut into 3 crosswise strips
1/3 cup thinly sliced scallion greens, divided

rice, brown or white, for serving

Combine raspberries, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, 3 tablespoons rice vinegar, garlic, orange zest, ginger, pepper and crushed red pepper in a blender or food processor. Blend or process until smooth, about 1 minute. Set aside 1/4 cup for a dipping sauce.

Transfer the remaining marinade to a medium bowl and add chicken; stir to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours.

Preheat grill to medium-high or preheat the broiler to high.

Meanwhile, remove the chicken from the marinade (discard excess marinade) and thread onto 4 skewers, distributing equally.

Grill the chicken until browned and cooked through. If using the broiler, place the chicken on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray and broil 4 inches from the heat source until cooked through.

Just before serving, sprinkle the rice with the remaining 2 tablespoons vinegar and 1/4 cup scallions; fluff with a fork. Sprinkle the chicken and rice with the remaining scallions. Serve with the reserved dipping sauce.

Joining Beth at Beth Fish Reads for her fun Weekend Cooking Party. Every weekend. It's open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share!