Blueberry Balsamic Glazed Chicken

Blueberry Balsamic Glazed Chicken.

Yes, Blueberry. Work with me here….

When you think about it, even though blueberries are fruits, they’re not particularly sweet fruits. And even though they are most commonly found at breakfast or dessert, why not pair them with something savory like chicken and balsamic vinegar. After all, fruit and meat is a winning combination in our recipes for Braised Pork Chops with Cranberries and Chicken with Raspberries.

Trust me when I tell you that once you’ve had this tender chicken with succulent blueberry glaze, you’ll never doubt blueberries for dinner again.

The bonus is that this meal is quick and easy to put together.

Here’s what you need:

Chicken, Blueberries, Shallot, Fresh Rosemary, Olive Oil, Butter, Balsamic Vinegar, Maple Syrup, Salt & Pepper.

Click here for a Blueberry Balsamic Glazed Chicken Shopping List

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Begin with a little chopping – thinly slice 1 large shallot (or about 1/4 cup) and 2 Tablespoons of fresh rosemary leaves.

You can use whatever chicken pieces you like but I think dark meat – legs and thighs – works particularly well for this meal as the dark meat stays extremely moist and juicy. You’ll need 2 pieces of chicken per person or about 2 pounds for 4 people. The leftovers are great so go ahead and cook some extra even if you don’t have 4 people to feed.

I have done my usual weirdness of skinning half of the chicken pieces. I do this for 2 reasons – #1) I don’t like chicken skin and Jim does so I skin some for me and leave the skin on for him; and #2) I recognize that the skin adds flavor to the dish but it also adds fat and grease. By skinning half of the chicken pieces, I cut down on fat but keep the flavor. So skin or don’t skin, it’s totally up to you.

Chicken Weirdness Explained.

Season your skinned/not skinned chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Add 1 Tablespoon of olive oil and 1 Tablespoon butter to a large pan on medium high heat. When the butter/oil is hot and foamy, brown the chicken on both sides.

When the chicken has browned, remove it from the pan, turn the heat down to medium, and add 1 more Tablespoon of butter and the sliced shallots. Saute the shallot for 2-3 minutes until softened but not too brown. Be sure your pan is not too hot or you will quickly have shallot bits.

Add 2 cups of fresh blueberries to the pan….

and 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar, and 1/3 cup real maple syrup. Add the chopped rosemary and cook quickly over medium heat 4-5  minutes until the blueberries just start to collapse.

If you are using an oven safe pan, put the chicken pieces back into the pan and nestle them down into the sauce. If you don’t have a large oven safe pan, transfer the chicken to a baking dish and pour the sauce over the top. Bake at 350 degrees, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until the chicken has cooked through. (160 degrees on an instant read thermometer if you are unsure.)

About halfway through cooking, turn the chicken in the pan to coat both sides in blueberry balsamic goodness.

Serve the chicken and spoon the sauce and blueberries over the top. I’ve served mine with a little saffron rice and some crisp green asparagus. Oh, and a nice glass of cabernet.

I love it when new recipes turn out great the first time. This was surprisingly a huge hit with Jim who laid claim to the leftovers right away.

Blueberries for dinner. Why not?

Here’s the recipe:  Adapted from Driscoll’s

Blueberry Balsamic Glazed Chicken

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5 Responses

  1. WOW…I never would have thunk it. Looks great…I’ll give it a whirl.
    What kind of skillet are you using??? It looks really cool.
    I think I recognize that berry bowl. 🙂

  2. Yes, the berry bowl is quite lovely is it not? I have a bit of a pottery addiction. The pan is a large Le Creuset braiser. I love it. It was my Christmas present from my lovely husband a couple of years ago. They are expensive (note, present…singular) but food cooks so beautifully in Le Creuset…even on my dumb electric stove. The brasiers are not as popular as the dutch ovens so you can often find them on sale.

    1. thank you for following up with my question…I’ll keep an eye out for one. I am guessing they clean up easily???
      Email me for that detail please. 🙂
      xoxoxo

      1. The Le Creuset pans all clean up great as long as you’re careful not to scratch them or ever let something burn onto the bottom. I’m dealing with some sticking in my dutch oven because I was an idiot and burned some sauce on that I can’t get off. Otherwise, I still think they are the best pans I’ve ever cooked with.

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