BBQ Chicken (Grilled)

5 from 12 votes

This BBQ chicken is insanely juicy, perfectly charred, and glistening with my secret homemade BBQ sauce. Perfect for your summer cookout!

Prep Time20

Cook Time1

Total Time1 20

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Keyword: BBQ Chicken, BBQ Chicken Recipe

Servings: servings (2 pieces of chicken)

3 ½ to 4 pounds (about 12 to 14 pieces) chicken thighs or drumsticks (bone-in and skin-on)

Prep the chicken. Place the chicken thighs on a large baking sheet and bring to room temperature. Pat dry with a paper towel.
Mix the dry rub. In a small bowl, combine the salt, garlic powder, smoked paprika, chili powder, onion powder, and black pepper. Sprinkle the rub over the chicken and use your hands to make sure the chicken is well coated on all sides (and under the skin if you'd like).
Prep the grill. Prepare one side of your grill for high, direct heat, leaving the burners on the other side off. If you are using charcoal or wood, make sure there is a cool side to the grill where there are few to no coals. Watch the video above to see how I do this!
Grill the chicken. Lay the chicken on the indirect heat side of the grill, yet close to the heat. Cover, and cook the chicken for 30 to 35 minutes, flipping the chicken every 10 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer reaches 160°F to 165°F.
Brush with BBQ sauce. Brush the chicken with BBQ sauce and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, covered. Flip the chicken, brush with more BBQ sauce, and cook another 3 to 4 minutes. Repeat this process until the chicken thighs and drumsticks reach 175°F.
Serve. Remove the chicken to a serving plate. Serve with extra BBQ sauce if desired.

If you're using my BBQ sauce recipe, you can always make that the day before to simplify prep work and grilling. Just store it in the fridge until you're ready to use it!
If you don't have a grill, you can bake your chicken thighs using my crispy baked chicken thighs recipe. Just slather the BBQ sauce on the pieces towards the end!