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Michael Symon’s Grilled Chicken Thighs with Blackberry BBQ Sauce recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon ground coriander

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

1 tablespoon kosher salt

8 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs

Olive oil

Blackberry BBQ Sauce (recipe follows)

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, combine the coriander, paprika and salt. Pat the chicken thighs dry with paper towels, season on both sides with the spice mixture, and place in a gallon-size zip-top bag. Refrigerate for several hours but preferably overnight.
2. Prepare and preheat your lump charcoal grill to create two heat zones: high and low.
3. Brush the chicken thighs with olive oil and place them skin-side down on the hot side of the grill. Cover and cook for 2 minutes. Remove the cover and move the chicken to the low-heat side of the grill, skin-side up. Cover and cook until the thighs reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees, about 15 minutes. Pour half the sauce into a medium bowl (reserve the other half for serving) and use it to baste the chicken occasionally during the final 10 minutes of cooking.
4. Serve the chicken with the reserved sauce on the side.

Blackberry BBQ Sauce

Note: I love pairing grilled chicken with a fruit-based barbecue sauce. This one has fresh blackberries that add a subtle sweetness to the sauce, balance out the heat of the chiles, and soften the acidity of the vinegars.

Makes 2 quarts

Ingredients:

3 pints fresh blackberries

12-ounces dark beer

1 cup balsamic vinegar

1 cup red wine vinegar

½ cup packed light brown sugar

1 onion, sliced

1 garlic clove, minced

1 habanero pepper, slit

1 tablespoon ground chipotle chile powder

1 tablespoon finely ground coffee

1 tablespoon ground coriander

1 tablespoon ground cumin

Directions:

In a large saucepan, combine all the sauce ingredients. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for 2 hours. Remove the pan from the heat and carefully blend or purée the sauce in a blender or food processor until smooth. Strain the sauce and set aside until needed.

Use immediately or store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

— Reprinted from Michael Symon’s Playing With Fire. Copyright © 2018 by Michael Symon. Photographs copyright © 2018 by Ed Anderson. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.