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Grilled BBQ Chicken Thighs


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4.5 from 2 reviews

  • Author: Mike Vrobel
  • Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
  • Yield: 8 1x

Description

BBQ chicken thighs recipe. Chicken thighs with a spice rub and glazed with BBQ sauce, grilled with indirect high heat.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 8 bone-in chicken thighs (about 3 pounds)

Barbecue Rub

  • 2 tablespoons kosher salt
  • 2 tablespoons paprika
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons chili powder
  • 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

Serve with


Instructions

  1. Rub the chicken thighs: Sprinkle a heavy coat of the rub over the chicken thighs. Gently pat the rub to help it stick, and work it into any natural seams in the meat. (Don’t vigorously “rub” the chicken, or most of the spices will wind up on your fingers.)
  2. Set the grill up for indirect high heat: Set your grill up for indirect high heat, 450°F, with a drip pan in the middle of the grill and the fire on the sides. In my kettle grill, I light a chimney starter full of coals; when the coals are lit and covered with gray ash, I pour them in two piles on the sides of the grill, with the drip pan in the middle. (If your grill comes with charcoal baskets, use them to keep the piles together.) Then I put on my grill grate and brush it clean.
  3. Cook the chicken thighs: Add the smoking wood to the coals, put the chicken thighs on the grill grate directly over the drip pan, and close the lid. Cook the chicken until the skin is browned and it has an internal temperature of at least 175°F, about 30 minutes. Brush the chicken with a layer of sauce, then cook for 15 more minutes, brushing with another layer of sauce every five minutes, keeping the lid closed as much as possible. Remove from the grill, brush with one last coat of sauce, let the thighs rest for five minutes, and serve.

Notes

  • The barbecue rub is from my homemade rub recipe. I make a large batch and keep it in my spice rack so I always have barbecue rub ready to use.

Tools

  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 45 minutes
  • Category: Grilling
  • Cuisine: American