The Weekend Chef: Grilled Chicken with Cola Sauce

The menu for our son's family birthday party was really a last-minute job.  My husband perused the circular Friday night and said, " How about chicken? Chicken thighs and legs are on sale?"  Okay we could do that.  I found two different grilled chicken recipes and let my husband pick since he was doing the grilling.  This recipe calls for 3/4 cup of cola.  This was a great way to use the bottle of Pepsi that we have had in our cabinet for over two years now!  Yes, it was flat, but we didn't need the bubbles for the recipe.  Just the sugary sweetness.  The original recipe used 6 chicken breast halves.  My husband ended up doubling the recipe since we were making 16 chicken legs and thighs.  We ended up with a bunch of rub and sauce left over and might not have needed to double it, but I always like to have more than not enough.  I did post the original recipe below though, with the original ingredient amounts.  Everyone seemed to enjoy the chicken.  I'm not a big chicken on the bone eater so I had nibbles of the pieces that I cut off for my son.  I found the sauce to be tasty though and the chicken juicy.....so I guess this was a good recipe! 

Grilled Chicken with Cola Sauce
recipe from Cooking Light, September 2011

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
3/4 cup cola (such as Coca-Cola)
1/3 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1 1/2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
6 (6 oz ) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
Cooking spray

Preparation:
1. Preheat grill to medium-high heat.

2. Heat a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion to pan; sauté 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in cola and next 4 ingredients (through chili powder); bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until sauce reduces to 3/4 cup, stirring occasionally. Set 6 tablespoons sauce aside.

3. Combine sugar and next 3 ingredients (through cumin), stirring well. Rub spice mixture evenly over both sides of chicken. Arrange chicken on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; baste with 3 tablespoons remaining sauce. Grill 5 minutes. Turn chicken over; baste with 3 tablespoons sauce. Grill 5 minutes or until done. Serve with reserved 6 tablespoons sauce.

Family Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.