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Home / Recipes / Dinner / Chicken / The Best BBQ Chicken

The Best BBQ Chicken

1 hr 25 mins
| Leave a Comment |
5 from 7 votes
Jump to Recipe 05/17/22 | Updated: 05/17/22 | by Nora
BBQ Chicken Recipe Image Pin

This is the best recipe for grilled BBQ Chicken – the chicken is extra juicy from brining, super flavorful from the spice rub and then finished with BBQ sauce. The perfect recipe for backyard barbecues!

overhead view of BBQ chicken on white plate

There is nothing quite like summer food! Backyard barbecues are one of my favorite parts of hot weather, so I love having a lot of recipes on hand so we don’t get into a grilling rut.

And this BBQ chicken… I don’t use the term lightly, but it’s just the best! I don’t know if I could ever grow tired of it. It’s a little more work than just basting the chicken with sauce, but I promise the extra few minutes are so worth it!

Ingredients you’ll need

Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities!

ingredients for BBQ chicken with text labels
Ingredients for BBQ Chicken: Chicken pieces, BBQ sauce, water, salt, brown sugar, garlic cloves, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, ground paprika and ground black pepper.

Ingredient notes

  • Chicken: You can use whatever chicken pieces you like. I went to our local butcher and got a sampling from everything for the pictures – chicken breast, drumsticks, thighs and wings. You can do bone-in or boneless, leave the skin on or remove it. It really doesn’t matter and you can absolutely just pick what you prefer.
  • BBQ sauce: You will use this to baste the chicken in the end, so the flavor is pretty strong and should be one you enjoy. I used a very sweet Heinz BBQ sauce because it’s the only one my children will eat, but if it was just me… I’d go for a Hickory Bourbon flavor. Stubbs or Sweet Baby Ray’s are my favorite brands.
  • Spices: Feel free to use your favorite ready-made BBQ rub if you prefer. I used to buy a mix, but with the kids I now make my own without even the slightest hint of spiciness (they think cinnamon is too spicy, so you get the picture…). You can easily add chili powder or cayenne pepper for some heat.

How to make the best BBQ Chicken

1. Start by trimming any excess fat from your chicken pieces. Combine all of the brine ingredients in the largest bowl you own and submerge the chicken. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours.

2. Once ready to cook, combine the spice rub ingredients in a small bowl. Heat your grill on high heat.

overhead view of raw chicken pieces in brine
brine chicken
overhead view of BBQ chicken spice rub in small white bowl with metal whisk
combine spice rub

3. Remove the chicken from the brine, discard the brine. Pat the chicken dry with paprika towels, then coat each chicken piece with spice mix.

female hand using paper towels to pat dry raw chicken pieces
pat dry
overhead view of seasoned chicken pieces on white plate
season with dry rub

4. Place the chicken skin-side down on the hot grill. Reduce the heat to 360°F and grill the chicken covered for 10 minutes. Flip, then grill with the lid closed for another 5-10 minutes (depending on the size and thickness of your chicken pieces).

Open the lid and increase the heat to 425°F. Keep grilling the chicken on both sides for another 5-10 minutes, until the chicken is crispy with good browning/grill marks on the outside.

BBQ chicken on grill
grill chicken
silicone brush brushing BBQ sauce on grilled chicken pieces
baste with BBQ sauce

5. Once the chicken is nearly done (at about 155°F), baste it with BBQ sauce. Grill uncovered for 2 minutes, then flip, baste again, and grill for another 2 minutes.

Once the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F, remove it from the grill and rest for 5 minutes before serving.

bbq chicken on grill plate
finish grilling
overhead view of BBQ chicken on white plate
rest before serving

Recipe tips

Grilling time:

Depending on the chicken pieces you use and their exact size, not all of them may cook in the same time frame.

If you notice a large temperature difference after 20-25 minutes on the grill, you could take the ones that have already reached 165°F off and keep them covered on a plate. Finish grilling the other pieces, then put the ones from the plate back on when you start basting with the BBQ sauce.

Make ahead:

I love make ahead recipes when all I want to do is enjoy summer.

You can start brining the chicken up to 24 hours ahead of grilling it, and you can combine the spice rub as well. Then, all you have to do before dinner is to season the chicken and throw it on the grill!

Altering the quantity:

This makes enough to feed 8 people (or 6 hungry ones/teenagers, ha!). If you have a smaller family, you can easily cut the recipe in half.

If you need a large quantity for a party or a larger gathering, you can double it – you need a really large bowl for the brine, or you’ll need to divide it between two bowls. I highly recommend multiplying the spice rub by 2.5 if you’re doubling the recipe, because it tends to start sticking to your fingers and you’d rather have a little more than a little less.

overhead view of sliced BBQ chicken and coleslaw on white plate

Serving ideas

BBQ chicken usually does come with pretty classic summer side dishes – pretty much the same as for Oven Fried Chicken. Which is exactly how we love it! Some of our favorites:

  • Crockpot Baked Beans
  • Grilled Corn on the Cob (or Air Fryer Corn on the Cob)
  • Creamy Dill Potato Salad
  • Classic Macaroni Salad
  • Coleslaw

And… the kids will always ask for a hot dog or burger bun on the side, and I oblige because it’s not easy to get them to eat much when it’s hot out. I don’t really bake bread in the summer, but if you wanted to go all out and make your own… Dinner rolls are really nice, and so is a classic white bread!

overhead closeup of sliced BBQ chicken breast with fork stuck into one piece

PS If you try this recipe, please leave a review in the comment section and add a star rating in the recipe card – I appreciate your feedback! Follow along on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram. Sign up for my email list, too!

Printable Recipe Card
overhead view of BBQ chicken on white plate
Save Recipe Saved!

Grilled BBQ Chicken

This is the best recipe for grilled BBQ Chicken – the chicken is extra juicy from brining, flavorful from the spice rub and gets finished with BBQ sauce.
Recipe by Nora from Savory Nothings
made it? tap the stars to add your rating!
5 from 7 votes
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Recipe details

Prep 20 mins
Cook 35 mins
Brining 30 mins
Total 1 hr 25 mins
Servings 8 servings
Difficulty Easy

Ingredients
 

Brine

  • 2 quart water
  • 3 tablespoons salt
  • 3 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 cloves garlic crushed

Chicken

  • 4-5 lbs chicken pieces I used a mix of boneless/skinless chicken breast and bone-in, skin-on thighs, drumsticks and wings

Spice rub (or use your favorite ready-made BBQ rub)

  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon ground paprika
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 2 teaspoons onion powder
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper

BBQ Sauce

  • 1 cup BBQ sauce or more to taste

Instructions
 

  • Brine chicken: Combine brine ingredients in a very large bowl. Trim any excess fat off chicken, then submerge chicken in brine. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and for up to 24 hours.
  • Prepare for grilling: Once ready to cook, heat grill on high. Combine all ingredients for spice mix in a small bowl.
  • Prepare chicken: Remove chicken from brine, discard brine. Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Rub each chicken piece with spice mix all over.
  • Grill covered: Lower heat from grill to 360°F (on a gas grill; if using charcoal, place chicken over indirect heat). Place chicken skin-side up on grill. Close lid and grill for 10 minutes. Flip chicken, then grill with lid closed for another 5-10 minutes (depending on how large your chicken pieces are).
  • Grill uncovered: Increase grill to 425°F (or move chicken over direct heat). Keep grilling chicken, uncovered, for 5-8 minutes, flipping once or twice, until browned with grill marks.
  • Baste and finish: Once chicken reaches an internal temperature of at least 155°F, baste with BBQ sauce. Grill for 2 minutes, flip, baste again, the grill for another 2 minutes. Once chicken reaches an internal temperature of at least 165°F, remove chicken to a plate. Rest for 5 minutes, then serve.
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Notes

Depending on the chicken pieces you use and their exact size, not all of them may cook in the same time frame.
If you notice a large temperature difference after 20-25 minutes on the grill, you could take the ones that have already reached 165°F off and keep them covered on a plate. Finish grilling the other pieces, then put the ones from the plate back on when you start basting with the BBQ sauce.
Nutrition is an estimate.

More recipe information

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American

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Nora Rusev from Savory Nothings
About Nora 
When I got married to my professional chef husband, I realized I had to step up my game in the kitchen. Now I share my favorite foolproof family recipes here on Savory Nothings: Chef-approved, kid-vetted and easy enough for everyday home cooks like you and me!   Learn more.

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Nora Rusev from Savory Nothings

Hi, I'm Nora! I wasn't always a good cook, but then I fell in love with a professional chef and learned my way around the kitchen. Now I share all my secrets to effortlessly great food here on my blog, bite-sized for home cooks just like me and you.

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