I’ve had a blackberry dessert recipe on my “to try” list for a while but when it came time to create this week’s recipe, I was not in the mood for sweets. I think the July 4th weekend full of rich food did me in! I love savory berry recipes and when I saw that chicken thighs were on sale this week, my wheels started turning. I had the best time creating my Rosemary Chicken Thighs with Blackberry Balsamic Glaze. It turned out so incredibly delicious that my husband said, “I’m going to remember this one for my birthday, Father’s Day, and any other day I get to pick what you make!”
Just looking at these pictures makes my mouth water and I wish I had made more for leftovers. The crispy pan seared, skin-on chicken thighs are seasoned simply with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. When they finished cooking, I sprinkled them generously with fresh rosemary straight from my garden. The blackberry balsamic glaze is the perfect balance of sweet and tang! I could seriously drink it straight!
Isn’t this the most gorgrous platter of chicken you’ve ever seen? When I was done photographing, I might have yelled at the top of my lungs, “I LOVE MY JOB!” Seriously, how did I get so lucky to be able to create beautiful food art and call it my job?
This is one of those recipes that looks fancy, tastes fancy, but is not hard to make at all! Restaurant worthy food at home? Yes please! Let me show you how simple and fun it is to create.
How to Make the Blackberry Balsamic Glaze
Blackberries and balsamic vinegar? Yes it works! Just five simple ingredients combined create the kind of sauce that you want to slather everything in.
Add all of the ingredients to a small saucepan then bring to a low boil. When the fruit is softened, mash it, then taste it. At this point you can add more honey or salt to your liking. Then just use a fine mesh strainer to get those seeds out.
It’s best to make the Blackberry Balsamic Glaze ahead of time. That will give it plenty of time to strain while you’re making the chicken. It can just sit at room temperature until you’re ready to pour it over the chicken.
How to make the Rosemary Chicken Thighs
If you have an aversion to “dark meat” or fattier pieces of chicken like thighs, please just try this. Fat means flavor! Chicken thighs are far superior to breasts in terms of flavor and juiciness. If you absolutely can’t work with thighs, choose a bone-in skin ON chicken breast for this.
Trim the fat off the underside but leave the skin on the top. Season the skin with salt, pepper, and garlic powder and place in a cast iron or oven-safe skillet skin side down.
Your skillet will need to be very hot but not all the way high. When you place the chicken in the skillet, it should sizzle immediately. Once it’s in the pan, season the other side of the chicken. Continue cooking for about 7 minutes or until the skin is brown, crispy, and easily releasing from the pan. If it’s stuck, it’s not ready!
Flip the chicken over then place the skillet in the oven for about 15 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F. Once it’s out of the oven, sprinkle generously with fresh rosemary. Simple and delicious!
Next, place the Rosemary Chicken Thighs on a platter and pour the Blackberry Balsamic Glaze all over them. My whole family, even my picky teenagers were dying over this combo!
Rosemary Chicken Thighs with Blackberry Balsamic Glaze is Perfect Year Round
Rosemary is an herb I use all year long and I love how it grows plentiful in my garden most of the year. The glaze could also be made with frozen blackberries which means this dish will be on rotation all year. It might be our new favorite chicken dish!
If you make my Rosemary Chicken Thighs with Blackberry Balsamic Glaze I promise you’ll impress your family, your in-laws, your boyfriend/girlfriend, kids, friends, or whoever you’re cooking for. They’ll think you spent hours when really it only takes about 45 minutes.
This dish made me think outside the box and combine flavors that I’ve never put together. It was so enjoyable to create and I’m so excited for you to make this and feel like the home chef that you really can be.
Sponsored post for Lee’s Marketplace. Ingredients on sale the week of July 7-13: chicken thighs, blackberries, olive oil, honey, brown sugar, butter
Rosemary Chicken Thighs with Blackberry Balsamic Glaze
Ingredients
- 6 oz blackberries
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons honey (to taste)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 6 bone-in skin on chicken thighs (about 2.5 lbs), trimmed of fat
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 3 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped
Instructions
- To make blackberry balsamic glaze, add blackberries, balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, honey and salt to a small saucepan. Heat to a low boil and cook until fruit is soft.
- Mash fruit completely. Taste and add more honey or salt if desired. Continue cooking until liquid is reduced and slightly syrupy.
- Pour berry mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a small pourable container. Press berries with the back of a spoon or rubber spatula to release all of the juice through the strainer. Once strained, set glaze aside and let sit at room temperature while chicken is prepared.
- Preheat oven to 425° F. Heat a large cast iron (recommended) or oven-safe skillet to medium-high heat. Add butter and olive oil.
- Season skin side of thighs with half of the garlic powder, salt and pepper. Place skin side down in the hot skillet. Season other side with remaining seasonings.
- Let cook for about 7 minutes or until skin is brown, crispy, and releases easily from bottom of skillet. Flip chicken thighs to other side then place in the oven for 15 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165° F.
- Remove skillet from oven and generously sprinkle the chicken with rosemeary. Place chicken on a platter and pour the glaze over just before serving.
Very good recipe. Used blackberry balsamic and made the reduction. Much easier than making from scratch. The rosemary was an excellent choice to finish this off! Loved by all !
Thanks for the review! Glad you enjoyed it!