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Rosemary Chicken Skewers with Berry Sauce

Posted by Garrett McCord of Vanilla Garlic on Jul 7, 2008

Filed under Chicken, Gluten-Free, Grill, Main Course, Quick

Rosemary Chicken Skewers with Berry Sauce

Please welcome guest author Garrett McCord, who grilled these chicken skewers with me the other day to rave reviews from the 'rents. ~Elise

I've always been a fan of combining sweet fruits with savory spices, it sets up a certain flavor balance that just works so well. Mango with chili pepper, peaches and thyme, rhubarb and rosemary. They're all delicious, so can there be any question that blackberries and rosemary would just be a match made in heaven?

Elise and I found the inspiration for this recipe in a tattered old cookbook; it needed a quite a bit of tweaking but we finally nailed it. The sweet sauce really makes the rosemary pop on these summer time chicken skewers. Believe me, we were sopping up this marinade with bits of watermelon, lettuce, strawberries, anything we could get our hands on.

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Rosemary Chicken Skewers with Berry Sauce Recipe

Ingredients

For the chicken:

  • 4-6 boneless chicken thighs or breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds), skin on or off
  • 2 tablespoons of chopped, fresh rosemary
  • 1/4 cup of dry white wine or vermouth
  • 1 teaspoon of pepper
  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil

For the sauce:

  • 1 3/4 cup of fresh or frozen blackberries or boysenberries
  • 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons of red currant jelly (or berry jam or jelly)
  • 1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg

Method

1 Cut the chicken into 1 1/2 inch pieces and place in a bowl. Mix with the wine, oil, rosemary, and pepper. Cover and set aside to marinate in the refrigerator for one hour.

2 Remove the chicken pieces from the marinade, reserving the marinade. Thread the chicken onto skewers and season generously with salt.

3a Grilling Preheat the grill for direct high heat. Brush the grill grates with olive oil. Place chicken skewers on grill and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Place on a platter and cover with foil to allow the chicken to rest.

3b Broiling Preheat the broiler. Place skewers on an oiled broiling pan, 5 to 6 inches away from the burner. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Place on a platter and cover with foil to allow the chicken to rest.

4To make the sauce, place the marinade and the berries in a sauce pan and simmer gently until the berries are soft. Press through a strainer and discard the pulp.

5 Return the juice and marinade mixture to the pan. Add the vinegar, jelly, and nutmeg and bring to a boil. Simmer, uncovered until it has reduced by about 1/3 to a light syrup-like consistency.

Plate the skewers and spoon the sauce over the chicken. Serve immediately.

Serves 4.

Indexed: Berry, Blackberry, Chicken, Chicken Breasts, Chicken Thighs, Grill, Grilled Chicken

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28 Comments

I have fond memories of this recipe- I think I know what book you found it in! I will have to make this again soon.

Posted by: Heather on July 7, 2008 7:05 AM

You're on a real rosemary kick these days, Elise! I've read that you can infuse even more rosemary flavor (although there may be plenty in your recipe) by soaking rosemary sprigs in water, then creating a 'bed' of the sprigs to put the meat onto while it cooks.

Hi Alanna, this one was all Garrett's idea (and his post), but is sure helps to have rosemary bushes growing right outside. Love the idea of soaking the sprigs and creating a bed of them, thanks! ~Elise

Posted by: Alanna on July 7, 2008 7:15 AM

Very Cool. I've been eating so heavy the past week and was looking for something tasty with chicken. I'm also into rosemary right now. I grilled some tri tip with rosemary that was fun and we had some almonds last night that Nancy made up that had rosemary in them too.

Joe

Posted by: Joe Horn on July 7, 2008 8:18 AM

The berry sauce looks wonderful. I'm thinking it would also go well with the pork tenderloin I'm intending to roast this week!

Posted by: Betsy on July 7, 2008 9:21 AM

It's almost blackberry picking season here in the Pacific Northwest. In another month, I'll have more than I can handle. I'll definitely try this recipe then. Looks delish!

Posted by: Kelly on July 7, 2008 9:21 AM

This sounds incredible - I'll have to get my hands on some blackberries.

Have you tried rosemary-infused salt? It's super simple: just warm up some kosher salt in a sauce pan and stir in a couple of sprigs of fresh rosemary. The heat releases the oils into the salt, which becomes gently perfumed. Sprinkle on potatoes, chicken, pork chops, popcorn, grilled veggies, etc, or use in rubs and marinades.

I keep a supply in a big spice shaker, with the rosemary still inside. The salt dries out the rosemary, so it keeps indefinitely in a sealed container. (The dried rosemary does add significant kick, though - leave it out if you're looking for a gentle flavor.)

Burk, I am loving this idea. I'll have to try it out! ~Garrett

Posted by: Burk on July 7, 2008 9:31 AM

I love combining fruit with meats. I'll try em out this week while I'm home and actually have a grill! I've never been able to combine fruits with a beef though, perhaps a fruity steak sauce, think would this work?

Posted by: Nick on July 7, 2008 2:40 PM

You two, this recipe is incredible!!!! I saw the recipe right after getting home from the grocery store. I had the chicken, the rosemary, etc. but no blackberries. Anyway, I made this recipe for dinner; and let me tell you, there was nothing left on our plates. I ended up making the sauce with raspberries and found it needed about a tablespoon of honey to sweeten it a little bit more. Because I am squeamish about using leftover marinade, I just halved the marinade recipe, made a fresh batch and added it to the sauce. It came out fantastic. I will make this again when blackberries are here. Now, let me tell you that I did keep a skewer full of chicken to make chicken salad tomorrow. Do you have any ideas for a good base? - sour cream and mayo don't seem to be worthy! Thanks, again, for this fabulous recipe. It was really delicious.

Linda, I'm so glad you loved this recipe as much as we did! As for a chicken salad using these sauced bits of chicken? Personally, I would go with some fresh greens, nuts, and fruit. I agree with you, mayo or sour cream wouldn't be worthy and might cloudy up those fruity flavors. Throw on a bit of lemon juice, oil, and vinegar and I think you're set! ~Garrett

Posted by: Linda on July 7, 2008 4:38 PM

These skewers look so, so beautiful. A work of art, Garrett.

Posted by: Dragon on July 7, 2008 4:57 PM

It sounds very interesting...

Posted by: iffet on July 7, 2008 5:11 PM

Never had rosemary and berries together before so this one rates as a must-try for us. Thanks for sharing!

Posted by: [eatingclub] vancouver || js on July 7, 2008 9:15 PM

Nicely written, wanting to try them soon.

Posted by: Amar on July 8, 2008 1:55 AM

I love fruit with pork and chicken, but my husband is not so much on board. Unless, that is, the meat is spicy (think firey jerk chicken with mango chutney). I think that I will try this, but add some habanero to the chicken. Habanero compliments fruit chutneys so well, I can imagine that it will do the same with the berries and rosemary - and if it's spicy, dear hubby will gladly eat fruit with his chicken!

Posted by: Acher on July 8, 2008 7:56 AM

This sounds delicious and I'd love to try it. However, my grilling spouse's chicken is always grilled to a dryness I cannot describe. Any suggestions to help him understand the difference between done and oh dear?

I would check this post for that info, my grilling skills are sub par, Elise and Hank are the experts on that here. ~Garrett

Posted by: bs_h on July 8, 2008 8:51 AM

Hi,

This is a very good recipe, I also like chicken kabobs with sage seasoning. I love the quick recipes on this site. I haven't bought raisin bread since you put the Irish soda bread recipe on your site. Man I love that stuff and it is really quick and easy.

Thanks for all the great recipes.
Frank W

Posted by: Frank on July 8, 2008 9:00 AM

These look great - it makes we wish I had a grill, but it looks like I can broil them if I want.

Posted by: S for Kitchen Confit on July 8, 2008 9:35 AM

I have not tried the sweet fruits with spices before. Thanks for the tip!

Posted by: Iron Chef on July 8, 2008 11:34 AM

Hi, I read your site often, and have made several of your recipes. All of which were awesome. I heard a rumor on another food blog. Hmm... which one could it be? That you helped make a wedding cake! Please share! What a great accomplishment for you, and gift for the couple! I so wish I had a home baked wedding cake 16 years ago, and I love when people ask me to bake/cook special things for them. Of course I have never been asked to bake a wedding cake... but I have 3 daughters!!!!

Posted by: Gina H. on July 8, 2008 3:43 PM

Using berry sauce on chicken skewers sounds like a great idea!

Posted by: Kevin on July 8, 2008 4:06 PM

Awesome! It is great to keep cooking in rich variety. Fresh and delicious.

Posted by: hong on July 8, 2008 6:25 PM

Gave it a shot (slightly modified) last night. By adding some orange juice and subbing red wine vinegar for the apple cider vinegar, I was able to coax some additional tanginess out of the sauce. Also, the lavender added a sweet and flowery freshness to the skewers that really made the kebobs and the sauce work well together.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/firsttubedotcom/2651592890/

Yum!

Posted by: Adam S on July 9, 2008 5:49 AM

Made this last night - the sauce was fab! One caution, tho. I cut fresh rosemary from the garden, and put what the recipe recommended and it was WAY too powerful. Either I have VERY good rosemary or I'd be careful on the amount... Next time I'll halve it to one tbsp so as not to overwhelm the flavor.

Posted by: kim on July 9, 2008 8:25 AM

After stripping the leaves, I use the rosemary sticks as skewers. They have to be pretty long and sturdy rosemary branches. It adds great rosemary flavor to the chicken and won't burn like bamboo skewers (no soaking required).

Posted by: Bev on July 11, 2008 7:35 AM

I made this tonight and it was phenomenal! I was a little nervous about the fruit/meat combo but it was just perfect.

Posted by: Kayla on July 15, 2008 8:58 PM

Wow! This recipe has so many flavors dancing around in my mouth. I love the rosemary and white wine...together with the berry sauce. Thanks so much for a great dinner.

Posted by: SaraQ on July 18, 2008 10:30 AM

I made these last night, and they were fabulous! I served them with baked sweet potatoes and a red cabbage salad with pancetta and goat cheese. So delicious. :)

Posted by: Holly on July 22, 2008 6:05 AM

I have used the rosemary branches (devoid of the greenery) by soaking them in water for a short time and placing the chicken, etc on the branches for skewers. yummy

Posted by: jeannine Wright on February 28, 2009 9:21 AM

I just made the chicken with no sauce. My 4 year old ate this without saying a word about the rosemary. (he usually will point out dill or any other green herb) Delicious all the way around! As always, thanks!

Posted by: Kate on December 20, 2009 5:33 PM

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