Homemade BBQ Chicken Thighs
Printable Recipe (click to expand)
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat your oven to 350ºF.
- Generously season chicken with seasoning.
- Heat a large frying pan with a small amount of olive oil. Once oil is heated add chicken thighs skin side down and fry for about 3 minutes per side, until chicken is browned all over, then transfer chicken to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Bake chicken in the oven for 8-10 minutes, then remove the chicken from the oven and generously brush the barbecue sauce all over the chicken, then place the chicken back into the oven and bake for about 2-3 minutes.
- Remove chicken from the oven and check temperature to make sure it is 165ºF, then let sit at room temperature for 5 minutes and serve.
Hey there Honey's and New-Bees!
Want to know my secret to making the best barbecue chicken – it’s not barbecued lol!
Have you ever made barbecue chicken for dinner and ended up with a burned and charred chicken that has very little BBQ flavor? I know I have!
Believe it or not I have very fond childhood memories of my aunt “manning” the barbecue and excitingly waiting for her to serve what smelled like some fantastic grilled barbecue chicken. It looked irresistible when she put it on the grill and the smell would have me drooling the entire cook time….but the fondness ends there…by the time the chicken was done grilling it was always charred, dry and needed a lot of barbecue sauce on the side to make it edible.
I know I might be coming off a little harsh, but in all fairness I continued this family tradition of making disappointing barbecue chicken most of my own life until I finally stopped making chicken the same way I’d done time over time hoping for different results, and tried something new (go figure).
Before I share how I learned to make fantastic barbecue chicken, I think it’s important I share what I WAS doing, because I’m sure there are some of you out there who are doing the same thing and ending up with the same results. So here it goes: I would slathering a bunch of barbecue sauce on my chicken, grilling it then baste with barbecue sauce as it cooked.
Sound familiar? If yes then keep reading and I’ll share with you how I learned to make the best barbecue chicken even if you don’t have a barbecue.
Step 1 – Season
Because barbecue sauce contains a high amount of sugar, it burns pretty quickly, and by slathering your chicken in barbecue sauce right from the get go the sauce will burn up within a couple of minutes – way before the chicken has a chance to cook. Needless to say adding the sauce right from the get go works against you, not only will it burn but it won’t flavor your chicken.
To flavor your chicken start by seasoning it generously with a nice dry rub first. You can really use whatever you chicken seasoning you like, whether it’s a prepackaged combo or a homemade combination of salt, pepper and herbs, just choose something you like!
Once the chicken is coated evenly on all sides set it aside and preheat your barbecue and/or cast iron pan so it’s nice and hot when you add the chicken.
Step 2 – Cook on High Direct Heat
Preheat a large cast iron skillet on medium high heat and LIGHTLY coat is with some canola oil, then place your chicken skin side down into the pan and let it cook for about 3-5 minutes without moving it! You want to let the chicken proteins caramelize, which will give you that nice crispy and flavorful exterior.
One the skin side is done, flip the chicken and sear for another 3-5 minutes on the other side.
***Although I have a barbecue it’s not a very good barbecue, and it doesn’t have the ability for me to create different temperature zones which is really crucial for barbecue chicken. If you have a great barbecue that does permit different temperature zones you can still make this chicken on the grill just make sure you know which areas are higher heat and which are low heat, then follow the same direction as below but use your grill rather than your stove and oven.
Step 3 – Cook on Indirect Heat
After both sides of your chicken are seared, transfer your chicken onto a baking sheet lines with parchment paper and bake your chicken in the oven (indirect heat) to finish cooking the meat.
Cook your chicken on indirect heat for about 8-10 minutes, then remove it from the oven and baste it with barbecue sauce, then bake the chicken for another (or place on indirect heat) 5 minutes. During these last 5 minutes the barbecue sauce coats the chicken with a fantastic flavor, and the sugar will caramelize which will give yo a nice crisp exterior that isn’t charred and burned!
Remove the chicken from the oven (or barbecue), let it cool for about 2 minutes, serve and ENJOY!
Items Featured in this Post:
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat your oven to 350ºF.
- Generously season chicken with seasoning.
- Heat a large frying pan with a small amount of olive oil. Once oil is heated add chicken thighs skin side down and fry for about 3 minutes per side, until chicken is browned all over, then transfer chicken to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Bake chicken in the oven for 8-10 minutes, then remove the chicken from the oven and generously brush the barbecue sauce all over the chicken, then place the chicken back into the oven and bake for about 2-3 minutes.
- Remove chicken from the oven and check temperature to make sure it is 165ºF, then let sit at room temperature for 5 minutes and serve.
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The bbq chicken thighs look so good, and the recipe sounds so detailed and clear. I would love to try this out.
Thanks Preet, it’s a pretty straightforward and simple recipe! Hope you get to try this out soon!
Can’t wait to try these with indirect heat! Great post!
Thanks! The indirect heat makes such a huge difference, and allowing the sauce to caramelize at the very end!
I’m pinning this! So good to know how to do this. My chicken is usually blah, too.
Thanks Julie! This will definitely be a big upgrade from blah chicken, adding the spice rub before hand really makes sure that you’re chicken has loads of flavor!
This looks perfect for spring/summer – and so simple too! Thanks for sharing!
I’m so bookmarking this post! I would love to be able to make BBQ chicken without using an actual grill, because knowing me, I too, would make them all charred and burnt. I’ll have to definitely try this recipe out, my hubby would be so pleased if I made this for dinner.
hahaha, I have a BBQ and I still prefer making BBQ chicken on the stove and in the oven, and it never comes out charred or burned! Happy Cooking, this is a really fun and low maintenance recipe!
These look amazing!
Thanks!
mmmmm yum yum yum I like that you shared what you did originally because yup, that’s what I do! I will try this new way now!
hahaha I’m glad I’m not the only one! This has been a real game changer, and the chicken is NEVER charred!
Looks awesome and great for the upcoming summer barbecue! Love that extra crisp ftom the skillet. Certain foods bring back memories for me also!
This is a great summer recipe, and it’s really simple to make! Enjoy!
I think I need to invest in a cast iron skillet . These look so tasty . I will try this method next time I am craving bbq chicken
It took me a while in invest in one, buy gosh am I glad I did! I highly recommend the LeCreuset skillet, I absolutely love mine, it cooks wonderfully , it’s easy to clean and really pretty to look at!
I just took some chicken thighs out the freezer and was tired of stewing it this is a perfect alternative. Going to try this delicious recipe.
That’s great, it’s a quick and fun recipe, happy cooking!