Hi Friends!
I am so excited about what I have to share with you today! I grilled up some cedar planked chicken thighs with soy ginger glaze. My mouth is watering at the sound of that! This chicken was so juicy and tender. It was a great Saturday evening meal! I must add it was still spectacular as leftovers for Sunday lunch! 🙂 And c’mon, anything grilled on a cedar plank is just plain fun to eat. I used skinless chicken thighs for this recipe to cut down on calories and fat. To cut down even more calories and fat, you could substitute dark turkey meat for chicken meat. Dark turkey meat naturally has less fat and calories than dark chicken meat.
Quick note about these Cedar Planked Chicken Thighs with Soy Ginger Glaze: 1) Easy to make 2) No long marinating times 3) Tasty, tasty, tasty!
The process begins with the marinade. In a saucepan, reduce the soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, and brown sugar for 20 minutes. Remove from heat, then add fresh ginger, garlic, and red pepper flakes. After the marinade cools a bit, whisk in the sesame seed oil. Combine the chicken thighs with the marinade in a large bowl, reserving 1/2 cup for basting the chicken thighs while grilling. The bowl of chicken thighs can be placed in the fridge while you prepare your grill for medium heat. As soon as the grill is ready, heat the cedar planks for 5 minutes, flip the planks, and add the chicken thighs to the planks for grilling.
The chicken thighs took about 20 minutes to grill. During the last 5-10 minutes, baste the chicken a few times to add extra juice and flavor. It is important to remember to keep the overall temperature of your grill below 350 degrees to prevent the wood planks from catching fire.
Cook up some wild rice for the perfect accompaniment to this chicken. Especially because the chicken glaze mixes in with the rice to give it an extra pop of flavor! I must say that I rarely never make anything with soy sauce or sesame oil in it. I just did not grow up eating much of them, and I never was drawn to cooking with either of them because I did not even know where to start. However, I think that will begin to change around here because these tasted amazing!
Cedar Planked Chicken Thighs with Soy Ginger Glaze…make ’em!! You will be glad you did!
Happy Grilling!!
Cedar Planked Chicken Thighs with Soy Ginger Glaze
Ingredients
- 2 pounds skinless boneless chicken thighs
For the glaze:
- 3/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup sesame oil
- 2 cedar planks for grilling
Instructions
- 1. Place cedar planks on baking sheet and cover with water. Place water glass or bowl on top of planks to prevent them from floating.
- 2. Combine soy sauce, balsamic vinegar and brown sugar in small saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook for about 20 minutes or until reduced by half. Remove pan from heat and add garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes. Let sit for 5 minutes. Whisk in sesame oil. Reserve 1/2 cup of glaze for basting chicken thighs.
- 3. Place thighs in a large bowl and cover with the glaze, remembering to reserve 1/2 cup for later. Refrigerate chicken until you are ready to grill.
- 4. Preheat grill to medium heat. Place cedar planks on grill, cover lid, and let sit for 5 minutes or until it starts smoking. Turn cedar plank over and add chicken thighs to cedar planks. Grill for 20 minutes or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. During last 5-10 minutes, baste chicken thighs with reserved glaze.
- 5. Remove from grill and serve with rice.
- Recipe adapted from Jamie Purviance His recipes are amazing!!
Love,
3 Scoops of Sugar 🙂
Angela Davidson says
Hey Megan! Looks great! I love recipes with basalmic & soy sauce, a great combo! Is it possible to make these without cedar planks? If so, what grilling variations might that take? Thanks!
Megan says
Thanks Angela! You could definitely do these without the cedar planks. Just be sure to oil up the grill grates beforehand so the chicken doesn’t stick to the grates when they are done. Grill them at about 350 for 10-12 minutes and/or internal temp of 165. Hope you like them!! 🙂
Gwen Davidson says
Megan, where did you purchase your cedar planks?
Megan says
I got them from Hy-Vee 🙂