There are 101 BBQ chicken recipes out there. For me, the best recipe is the simplest. Really, it’s about the right cut of chicken, a good sauce, and waiting to add the sauce until the end or after cooking. Let’s get into it.
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If you’re wanting to wow your family and friends with flavorful BBQ chicken, don’t you dare use chicken breasts. Instead, go ahead and grab some boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Chicken thighs are a fattier cut of meat, which means more flavor. Also, *trigger warning*, it’s simply more moist than chicken breast. You might not like the word, but you might be insane if you prefer dry chicken breast over juicy thighs.
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I’ve been making my own BBQ sauce for years. It takes minimal effort, and it’s always better than any store-bought condiment with all the additives and crap that’s not great to ingest. Now, my recipe isn’t sugar-free, but I opt for using local honey, coconut sugar, and date syrup as natural sweeteners rather than processed. You can keep it in the fridge for weeks, but my guess is you’ll probably use it up a lot quicker.
But my biggest tip if you want to make the best BBQ chicken is to first cook the chicken, and then add the sauce. In my experience, when you first marinate the chicken in sauce and THEN cook, the sauce caramelizes even more and starts burning before the chicken can thoroughly cook. Don’t knock it ’till you’ve tried it.
And if you do try it, be sure to let me know in the comment section. Happy BBQ-ing.
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BBQ chicken is my favorite food and has been since childhood. I agree with making your own sauce and adding it after cooking. I want to try your sauce – thanks for the recipe!
THANK YOU for telling the world to stop using chicken breasts. Chicken thighs are so much better!
Yummmy.
Chris, looking forward to making the BBQ sauce.
I sometimes par boil my chicken before finishing on the grill. Very moist when done. Also I do the same and add BBQ sauce at the end for the same reason you list.