Barbecue chicken – sweet and sticky chicken cooked with barbecue sauce – is a great dish to pull out at any barbecue, and makes the most amazing leftovers. In our recipe below, we've given instructions for cooking the chicken either on the barbecue or in the oven. Both are delicious options, but cooking over live fire definitely gives this dish that extra something.
The barbecue
The question of coal or gas is always up for debate, but either way you need to ensure your barbecue is ready to cook with before adding any ingredients to the grill. If you are using a gas barbecue, turn it on around thirty minutes before you intend to use it and keep a section turned to low or off as it will come in useful later. For coal barbecues, once you have lit your charcoal wait for the flames to die down and the coals to turn white. For this recipe, concentrate the coals on one side of the grill. This will leave you with a cooler area for indirect cooking. We like Kenji Lopez-Alt's method of cooking mostly on the cooler side and then finishing on the hotter side for colour.
What cuts of chicken can you use for barbecue chicken?
We like using bone-in, skin-off chicken thighs for barbecue chicken, as recommended by America's Test Kitchen. The sauce sticks well to the meat, and dark meat (like drumsticks or thighs) stays moister for longer than chicken breast, which can dry out quickly. However, you can also make it with skin-on or boneless chicken thighs. If using boneless chicken thighs, the timings on the recipe below will need to be reduced slightly, as those cook through more quickly.
What temperature should you cook chicken to?
For safety, chicken should be cooked to 74°C for dangerous bacteria like salmonella to be killed instantly. However, dark meat can actually benefit from being cooked to even higher temperatures, so it's a very forgiving meat to cook on the barbecue.
In contrast, white meat like chicken breast can dry out very easily, so we don’t recommend it for the recipe below. If you are cooking white meat on the barbecue, it’s important to keep a close eye on the internal temperature to prevent overcooking. Brining chicken breast can also help it stay moist. Check out our guide to cooking chicken breast for more information on how to brine chicken breast in advance.
How to make barbecue chicken
Metric
Imperial
BBQ Rub
- 2 tbsp of brown sugar
- 2 tbsp of paprika
- 1/2 tsp onion granules
- 1/2 tsp garlic granules
- 1/2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 3/4 tsp table salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Chicken
- 4 bone-in chicken thighs, skin removed
- barbecue sauce, as needed for brushing the chicken, about 100 ml
If making the chicken on a barbecue, prepare a barbecue for cooking over indirect heat, with the coals banked to one side. The barbecue is ready when all the coals are white and the flames have died down
If making chicken in the oven, preheat the oven to 200°C fan. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper
Mix together all the ingredients for the spice rub. If your brown sugar is clumpy, rub it into the paprika first until evenly combined, then stir in all the other ingredients
Once the oven or barbecue is ready, place the chicken pieces on a plate and sprinkle over the rub. Pat the rub firmly onto one side of the chicken, then flip the pieces and pat onto the other side, adding more as needed
For the barbecue, carefully place the chicken over the side of the barbecue without the coals (the cooler side). Close the lid and cook for 30 minutes, or until the chicken is 74°C at the thickest point of the thigh
For baked chicken, transfer the chicken to the lined baking tray. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the chicken is 74°C at the thickest point of the thigh
Thin the barbecue sauce with a splash of water if needed, so it’s easy to brush on the chicken
Brush the chicken thighs with the barbecue sauce, then return to the closed barbecue or oven for 5 minutes
Flip the chicken over, and then brush the other side with sauce. Cook for 5 more minutes
The oven chicken should now be shiny and sticky with sauce, and ready to serve. If any pieces on the barbecue need a bit more colour, move them to the hotter side of the grill, directly over the coals. Cook with the lid down for 5 more minutes until lightly charred, flipping the chicken and then repeating if needed
How do you make barbecue sauce?
The recipe below will work with any store bought barbecue sauce, but if you want to make your own then we have a whole guide you can check out here. Sometimes barbecue sauce can be very thick, so if needed then thin it out with a splash of water to make it easier to glaze, as recommended by Adam Perry Lang.
How long does barbecue chicken last in the fridge?
Barbecue chicken can last in the fridge, covered, for about 3-4 days. Any leftovers would be delicious in a sandwich, salad or – if you’re feeling a bit controversial – on a pizza.
What can you serve with barbecue chicken?
Since it’s quite sweet already, we’d recommend pairing barbecue chicken with something quite plain, like a simple rice salad or buttered slices of bread, as well as a green salad. However, barbecue chicken is delicious with all the classic barbecue trimmings – coleslaw, green salad or buttery corn on the cob.
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