Martha's Vineyard Raspberry Chicken

This is summer-on-the-coast cooking, the kind of bright, sweet-tart chicken you’d find on a Martha’s Vineyard porch. Boneless chicken breasts marinate in a homemade maple-raspberry vinaigrette, then hit the grill and get lacquered with a spicy raspberry glaze.

It’s a from-scratch affair, and worth it. You even make your own raspberry vinegar by steeping fresh berries in vinegar for a couple of days, which gives the marinade and glaze a deep, fruity tang you can’t buy in a bottle. Maple syrup and Dijon round the vinaigrette into something sweet, sharp, and savory all at once.

On the grill, brush the glaze on after you flip the chicken, then again at the end, so it caramelizes into a sticky, ruby coat without scorching, since that raspberry jam is full of sugar.

A scatter of toasted pine nuts adds buttery crunch, and the cayenne in the glaze keeps all that fruit from tipping too sweet.

Chef Tips

• Make the raspberry vinegar ahead. It needs 48 hours to steep, so plan for it.
• Marinate the chicken the full 2 hours for the most flavor and the juiciest result.
• Brush the sugary glaze on later in the grilling, after the first flip, so it caramelizes instead of burning.
• Toast the pine nuts just until golden. They go from nutty to bitter in seconds.

Variations

• Use bone-in thighs for more forgiving, juicier grilling.
• Swap the pine nuts for sliced almonds or chopped pecans.
• Use store-bought raspberry vinegar and a quality raspberry preserve to shortcut the prep.