Grilled Boneless Thighs and Cherry Tomatoes over Pasta

Boneless chicken thighs aren’t only for those delicious winter meals where you sear and let them braise in a bounty of vegetables and savory juices. They love the grill too! I have always been committed to grilling bone-in thighs until Keith accidentally came home with boneless thighs. He definitely knows the difference. He’ll be the first to admit he sometimes gets caught up chatting and may not be giving my grocery list his utmost attention.

Thanks to whoever he was talking with that day because they were soooo delicious! And, very simple to grill. I seasoned them with a great product out of Austin, Texas – Chicken Shit. Yes, Chicken Shit. It’s a beautiful blend of herbs that really brings out the best in the chicken. The chicken is cooked skin side down on direct heat and then placed over indirect heat to finish the cooking process.

I also tossed heirloom tomatoes in olive oil, basil, chives, oregano before skewering them in prep for their trip to the grill. Once the chicken has done its flip over to the indirect heat part of the grill, those sweet juicy tomatoes head to the grill to cook over the direct heat. They’ll char and start to burst with flavor.

What do we now do with all these flavors blasting off the grill? We’ll let their flavors and juices drench a bowl of perfectly cooked pasta.

Course Main Course

Keyword Chicken, Pasta, Tomatoes

Servings people

Ingredients

The Chicken

1 ½-2 pounds Boneless Skin-On Chicken Thighs
1 teaspoon Duck Fat or ½ tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons Chicken Shit (or your favorite poultry seasoning

The Tomatoes

2 pints Heirloom or Red Cherry Tomatoes
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
2 tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
1 tablespoon Fresh Basil
1 tablespoon Fresh Chives plus extra for garnish
1 tablespoon Fresh Oregano
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt

The Pasta

12 ounces Spaghetti
1 cup Pasta Water

Instructions

The Chicken

Rub the duck fat in your hands to soften. Coat the thighs with the duck fat or olive oil. Sprinkle liberally with the Chicken Shit seasoning. Set to the side or refrigerate until you’re ready to grill.

The Tomatoes

Soak wooden skewers in cold water for 30 minutes. Ina medium size bowl, add the olive oil, herbs and salt. Add the tomatoes and set to the side tomarinate for at least ½ hour. Skewer thetomatoes. Do not toss out the marinadeleft in the bowl. We will use that withour pasta.

The Pasta

Fill a large saucepan with water. Generously salt the water. Bring to a boil. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook till al dente. This should take about6-8 minutes. Strain, being sure to save1 cup of pasta water. Return the pastato the saucepan and keep enough water on the pasta to prevent it from dryingout. Keep warm on a low heat.

Grilling

Heat the grill to 350 degrees. Scrape clean and ub with vegetable oil. Turn off the middle burner (or at least one of the burners). You may need to increase the heat to maintain it at 350 degrees.
Placethe chicken, skin side down, over the direct heat. Grill for 7-8 minutes or until the skin iscrispy. Move the chicken to the indirectheat and continue cooking for an additional 8-10 minutes or until the internaltemperature reaches 165 degrees.
Once youflipped the chicken, add the tomatoes to the grill over the direct heat. Turn once the tomatoes start to blister. Grill for about 8-10 minutes.
If the chicken gets done before the tomatoes, you can keep them warm in a 150-degree oven.

Bringing It All Together

Add the warm pasta to the bowl with remaining marinade. Top with grilled tomatoes, marinade juice from the grilled tomatoes and chicken juice from the grilled thighs. Mixto incorporate the pasta, tomatoes, marinade and juice from the chicken. Smash the tomatoes as you toss it with thepasta. Serve in warm pasta bowls and topwith the chicken thighs. Garnish withextra chopped chives, basil or oregano.