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Chicken or Steak with Balsamic BBQ Sauce

Recipe and Photo courtesy of Giada de Laurentiis; Food Network.com

For the Balsamic BBQ sauce:
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

For the chicken or steak:
4 pieces chicken (any combination of breast or leg-and-thigh pieces) or 4 pieces of New York strip or Club strip steak
Salt and freshly ground pepper

For the BBQ sauce:
Combine all the 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 to 20 minutes.

For the chicken or steak:

• Place a grill pan over medium heat or preheat a gas or charcoal grill.
• 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 the small saucepan, over low heat or on the edge of a gas or charcoal 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 reads the desired temperature, 120 degrees F for medium rare, 135 degrees F for medium (about 6 minutes per side), 155 degrees F 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 degrees F.
• Place the chicken skin side up in a baking dish and bake for 25 minutes.
• Remove the baking dish from the oven and spoon the BBQ sauce all over the top of the chicken.
• Return the baking dish to the oven and bake for another 15 minutes.