Grilled BBQ Chicken Kebabs

Ingredients

Sauce ½ cup ketchup ¼ cup molasses or honey 2 Tbs grated onion (grated on the large wholes of a box grater) 2 Tbs Worcestershire Sauce 2 Tbs Dijon mustard 2 Tbs cider vinegar 1 Tbs brown sugar hot sauce, to taste

Kebabs 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1-inch cubes 2 tsp kosher salt 2 Tbs sweet paprika 4 tsp sugar 2 tsp smoked paprika ⅛ tsp cayenne pepper 2 slices bacon, cut into ½-inch pieces skewers

Directions

For the sauce, bring all the ingredients to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens and reaches a ketchup-like consistency and is reduced to about 1 cup, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat. Transfer ½ cup of the sauce to a small bowl and set aside to serve with the cooked chicken.

For the kebabs, toss the chicken with the salt in a large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes, or up to 1 hour.

For a gas grill, turn all the burners to high, close the lid, and heat 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Combine the paprikas, sugar, and cayenne in a small bowl.

Process the bacon in a food processor until a smooth paste forms, 30-45 seconds, scraping down the bowl twice during processing. Add the bacon paste and the spice mixture to the chicken and toss to coat using your hands or a rubber spatula. Thread the meat onto skewers, rolling or foldin meat as necessary to maintain 1-inch cubes.

Scrape the cooking grate clean with a grill brush. Leave the primary burner on high and turn off the other burners. Place the kebabs over the hot burner and grill, covered, turning one-quarter of a turn every 2 minutes or so, until well browned and slightly charred, 8 to 10 minutes.

Brush the top surface of the kebabs with ¼ cup sauce; flip and cook until the sauce is browned in spots, about 1-2 minutes. Flip again and brush with remainign ¼ cup sauce; continue to cook until browned in spots and cooked through, about 1-2 minutes.

Remove from grill and allow to rest 5 minutes. Serve, passing barbecue sauce separately.

#grilled #bbq #chicken #kebabs