Balsamic BBQ Sauce

This is yet another winning recipe from Giada De Laurentis.

I LOVE balsamic vinegar and turning into a sticky, tangy, sweet barbecue sauce is genius! I have only used this on chicken but she also recommends using it for New York strip steak.

1 cup balsamic vinegar

3/4 cup ketchup

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

To make the sauce:

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and stir until all the ingredients are incorporated and the mixture is smooth. Simmer over medium heat until reduced by 1/3, about 15-20 minutes.

For the chicken (or steak):

Place a grill pan over medium heat or preheat your BBQ. Season the meat with salt and pepper. Lightly coat with some of the BBQ sauce using a pastry brush. Place the meat on the grill. Place the remaining BBQ sauce, still in small saucepan, over low heat or on the edge of a BBQ grill and allow to gently simmer while the meat cooks.

Cook the chicken about 8 minutes per side. Cook the steaks starting at about 4 minutes per side until a meat thermometer read the desired temperature (120 for medium rare, 135 for medium-about 6 minutes per side, 155 for well done-about 9 minutes per side). Continually brush the meat with BBQ sauce every few minutes. Remove the meat from the grill and let rest for at least 5 minutes. Serve with the heated BBQ sauce alongside.

Alternately, the chicken can be baked in the oven. Preheat the oven to 375. Place the chicken skin side up in a baking dish and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the baking dish from the oven and bake for another 15 minutes.