American · Main · Easy
BBQ Chicken Thighs
Smoky grilled chicken thighs glazed with sticky barbecue sauce. Juicy, charred at the edges, and impossible to eat just one.
The whole recipe in 60 seconds
BBQ Chicken Thighs, in 5 ideas
- Thighs beat breasts for grilling every time. Dark meat stays juicy and forgives overcooking.
- Dry the skin well before seasoning. Moisture is the enemy of crispiness.
- Sauce goes on at the end. Sugar in barbecue sauce burns if it goes on too early.
- Two zone grilling gives you control: sear over direct heat, finish gently over indirect.
- The sauce caramelizes in those final minutes into a sticky lacquered coating.
What you need
Ingredients
- 3 lbs bone in, skin on chicken thighs
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 cup barbecue sauce, plus more for serving
How to make it
Directions
- Pat the chicken thighs dry. Rub with olive oil, then season with salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic powder.
- Heat the grill to medium, about 350F. Set up a cooler indirect zone.
- Grill the thighs skin side down over direct heat 5 minutes until the skin crisps and gets grill marks.
- Move to indirect heat, cover, and cook 20 minutes until the internal temp reaches 165F.
- Brush generously with barbecue sauce and grill 2 more minutes per side to caramelize the glaze.
- Rest 5 minutes before serving with extra sauce.
Buy a family pack of thighs when they are on sale and freeze them in meal sized portions. They thaw fast and grill up faster than almost any other protein.