If chicken on the grill is a summer staple in your house, this BBQ chicken recipe needs to be on the menu at your next cookout! All you need are a few basic pantry staples for the seasoning mix, bone-in chicken pieces, and your favorite homemade or store-bought barbecue sauce for mind-blowingly delicious, succulent barbecue chicken.
BBQ chicken could not be easier to make. Season your chicken, grill it to juicy perfection, baste with barbecue sauce, and voila! A simple but delicious chicken meal to serve alongside tasty side dishes. Your friends and family will love it! For more chicken recipes, try my tandoori chicken, air fryer chicken thighs, and baked chicken legs.
What You Need for BBQ Chicken
Seasoning mix — for the simple but flavorful seasoning mixture, you need salt, garlic powder, and ground black pepper.
Chicken — bone-in skin-on chicken pieces are my favorite option for barbecue chicken on the grill. You can either use the same cut of chicken or a mixture of pieces. I opted for a mix of breasts, thighs, and drumsticks.
Oil — olive oil helps the seasonings stick to the chicken. It also adds flavor and helps lock in moisture.
BBQ sauce — use your favorite barbecue sauce. I like a thicker sauce that sticks to the chicken and caramelizes. For a thinner sauce, baste it a few times to build up a good layer of flavor.
How To Make BBQ Chicken
1. In a small bowl, make the dry rub by stirring together the salt, garlic powder, and black pepper.
2. Pat the chicken pieces dry with a paper towel and rub olive oil all over each piece.
3. Sprinkle the spice rub all over the chicken.
4. Place the chicken pieces skin side up on a hot grill preheated to low (350°F). Close the lid and grill for 10 minutes.
5. Flip the chicken and grill, covered, for another 10 minutes. Continue to grill the chicken, flipping every 10 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 160°F on an instant-read thermometer.
6. Brush one side of the chicken with BBQ sauce and cook, covered, for 3 minutes. Flip the chicken and baste the other side with more barbecue sauce. Cook for another 3 minutes, covered, until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165°F. Remove the chicken from the grill and let it rest for 5 minutes before serving with extra barbecue sauce and your favorite sides.
How To Cook BBQ Chicken In The Oven
For oven baked BBQ Chicken, preheat the oven to 425°F and line a large baking sheet with foil. Prepare the chicken as directed, and place it on the baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375°F. Brush ½ cup of BBQ sauce over chicken. Bake for 20 minutes. Brush again with the remaining sauce. Continue to bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F. Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before serving.
What’s The Best Barbecue Sauce To Use?
Use your favorite BBQ sauce, whether it’s on the sweeter side or leans toward smoky, spicy, or vinegary! The barbecue sauce flavor is very prominent on the chicken, so definitely choose one that tastes good to you.
What To Serve With BBQ Chicken
Barbecue chicken goes well with any number of cookout side dishes. Here are some ideas:
- Grilled corn on the cob, elote, or corn salad
- Instant Pot mashed potatoes, air fryer baked potatoes, or potato salad
- Coleslaw
- Baked beans
- Collard greens
- Mac and cheese
- Cucumber salad
Pro Tips For Making This Recipe
- Do not cook the chicken straight out of the refrigerator. Let the chicken sit on the counter for about 30 minutes before you start grilling so it is closer to room temperature when it goes onto the hot grill. Completely chilled chicken can take longer to cook, resulting in burned skin with undercooked middles.
- Use a meat thermometer. An instant-read thermometer is the most convenient way to tell whether the chicken is fully cooked to 165°F. This is especially important if you are cooking chicken breast pieces, which become very dry when overcooked. For succulent, juicy chicken, use a thermometer!
- Baste the chicken pieces with BBQ sauce later. Since barbecue sauce contains sugar, adding it to the chicken at the beginning of grilling will burn. In this recipe, each side is basted with sauce and only cooked for a few minutes before coming off the grill for a perfectly cooked and flavorful chicken.
- Let the cooked chicken rest. Allowing the chicken to rest for a few minutes before serving allows the juices to redistribute so the chicken is perfectly moist and juicy.
Frequently Asked Questions
While I prefer bone-in skin-on chicken when grilling, you can use boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts if you prefer. Keep in mind that it is much easier to overcook boneless chicken, especially boneless chicken breasts, without an instant-read thermometer. You will also need to adjust the cooking time, as boneless chicken pieces cook faster than bone-in chicken. Start checking them 5 to 10 minutes earlier, depending on how thick the chicken pieces are.
Since barbecue chicken will keep well in the refrigerator for 4 days, you can cook it a day ahead of time. Reheat the chicken in the oven to crisp up the skin again before serving.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or frozen in a freezer-safe container or bag for up to 3 months.
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried this BBQ chicken recipe, then don’t forget to rate it and let me know how you got on in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
BBQ Chicken Recipe
Equipment
- Grill or baking sheet
- Basting brush
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 3 pounds bone-in skin-on chicken pieces (mix of breast, thighs, drumsticks) (1,350g)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup BBQ sauce (240mL)
Instructions
- Preheat the grill to low (350°F).
- In a small bowl, stir together the salt, garlic powder, and pepper.
- Pat the chicken pieces dry with paper towels and rub the oil all over each piece. Sprinkle the spice mix all over the chicken.
- Place the chicken pieces skin-side up on the hot grill. Close the lid and grill for 10 minutes. Flip the chicken and grill, covered, for another 10 minutes. Continue to grill the chicken, flipping every 10 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 160°F. Total cooking time will be 35 to 40 minutes.
- Brush one side of the chicken with BBQ sauce and cook, covered, for 3 minutes. Flip the chicken and brush the other side with more BBQ sauce. Cook another 3 minutes, covered, until the internal temperature reaches 165°F. Remove from grill and rest for 5 minutes before serving. Serve with extra BBQ sauce.
Notes
- Do not cook the chicken straight out of the refrigerator. Let the chicken sit on the counter for about 30 minutes before you start grilling so it is closer to room temperature when it goes onto the hot grill. Completely chilled chicken can take longer to cook, resulting in burned skin with undercooked middles.
- Use a meat thermometer. An instant-read thermometer is the most convenient way to tell whether the chicken is fully cooked to 165°F. This is especially important if you are cooking chicken breast pieces, which become very dry when overcooked. For succulent, juicy chicken, use a thermometer!
- Baste the chicken pieces with BBQ sauce later. Since barbecue sauce contains sugar, adding it to the chicken at the beginning of grilling will burn. In this recipe, each side is basted with sauce and only cooked for a few minutes before coming off the grill for a perfectly cooked and flavorful chicken.
- Let the cooked chicken rest. Allowing the chicken to rest for a few minutes before serving allows the juices to redistribute so the chicken is perfectly moist and juicy.
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