The 4 most important things to perfectly grilled BBQ thighs are: 1) the grill temperature, 2) the amount of time, 3) how often to flip them, and, most importantly, 4) when to add that sauce. Let’s do it!
These grilled BBQ chicken thighs are incredibly delicious and cook up quickly on the grill. They develop a slightly crispy exterior while staying wonderfully juicy on the inside. First, they’re coated in a flavorful spice rub, then brushed with barbecue sauce partway through grilling. This timing helps prevent the sauce from burning while still allowing it to caramelize and develop a light char. The process is fairly simple, but I’ve included the important points so your chicken turns out the best ever.
Scroll down to read more about how it all comes together or click here to jump straight down to the recipe.
Seasoning For BBQ Chicken
We’ll be using a BBQ sauce, so it’s best to choose seasonings that go well with that. Also, you don’t want to overdo it on the seasonings since the sauce has a lot of flavor. You can use your favorite BBQ sauce for this recipe, store-bought or homemade.
For the seasonings, I like to use smoked paprika, onion powder, salt and pepper, and just a touch of cayenne pepper. You can adjust the spices for your taste, or even use a seasoning blend like this Montreal Chicken Seasoning. I like to mix the seasonings with cooking oil and then add the chicken. That gets you a nice even coating and the chicken is oiled up and ready to cook.
If your boneless skinless chicken thighs are tucked into bundles, unroll them to get the seasoning on as much of the surface of the chicken as possible. They also cook a little quicker if you leave them unrolled instead of rolling them back up.
Grill Temperature For Chicken Thighs
For these chicken thighs, we’ll be cooking them over direct heat on the grill. You’ll want to heat the grill to medium-high heat, which is between 400-450°F.
If your grill doesn’t have a thermometer, use the Motorboat Test: With palms facing down, hold your hands 5 inches above the grill grates and count the number of seconds you can keep them there before pulling away (“one-motorboat, two-motorboat, three-motorboat”). If you can keep them there for about 3 seconds (2 to 4 seconds) the temperature is about right.
If you have chicken breasts instead, the timing and temperature will be different. See my BBQ Chicken Breasts recipe for more information.
Timing
Total Time Needed For Grilled Chicken Thighs
Once the grill is heated and your chicken thighs are seasoned and oiled, lay them flat (unrolled) on the grill over the direct heat. The total amount of time for boneless skinless chicken thighs to be on the grill will be about 10-12 minutes, but we’ll be doing some flipping and saucing in that time.
Unsauced Grilling Happens First
So, to start, after you add the chicken to the grill, put the lid down and let them cook undisturbed for 5 minutes. This develops a nice crispiness on the bottom, and some grill marks, and begins the cooking process. Then, flip the thighs and cook them, again with the grill cover down, for another 2 minutes.
When to Sauce Them?
After the thighs have cooked for 5 minutes on one side and two minutes on the other, leave them as they are and brush the tops with BBQ sauce. Your total amount of sauce in this recipe for 5-6 chicken thighs is 1/2 cup. You’ll use half of that, so 1/4 cup of it, here first. Covering the grill again and cook for 2 more minutes.
This first brushing of sauce is not in contact with the grill at first, so it is able to flavor the chicken and soak in a bit, without starting to char or burn.
Then you flip them over, sauced side down, and brush the tops with the other half of the sauce. Continue to cook until the chicken is cooked through to 165˚F as read on an instant-read thermometer, another 1-4 minutes.
I prefer to not flip the chicken again at this point. Why not? Right now, one side of the chicken has sauce that has been in contact with the grill, and it’s nice and charred a bit. The other side still has sauce that’s rich, sticky, and uncharred. That contrast between the smoky, caramelized side and the juicy, saucy side is exactly what I love. You get the best of both textures and flavors in every bite. This is perfection.
Remove the chicken to a clean plate and allow them to rest for 5 minutes.
Timing for Bone-In Chicken Thighs
All of the instructions in this recipe are for boneless skinless chicken thighs. If you’re using bone-in thighs instead, you can season and oil them the same way, but the cooking method changes a bit. Start by cooking them over indirect heat (away from the flames), flipping every 10 minutes, until they reach an internal temperature of 140°F.
At that point, you can treat them just like boneless thighs: move them over direct heat and follow the recipe as written, flipping and saucing as instructed. This two-stage method lets you gently cook them through first, then finish with high heat to get the crispy, charred, saucy exterior. Basically, it’s a small adjustment to account for the longer cooking time required for bone-in meat.
Can I Bake BBQ Chicken Thighs?
Not a great day for grilling and want to cook BBQ chicken in the oven instead? No problem. You can use this Baked Barbecue Chicken Thighs recipe. You’ll want about 30 minutes at 350°F. You can use the seasonings from that recipe or use the spice rub from the recipe below. Just remember to wait until towards the end of cooking before brushing them with BBQ sauce. To get some char, you can finish them under the broiler, where they will only need a few minutes.
Or, even better, make this Air Fryer BBQ chicken recipe which looks and tastes just like grilled chicken. It’s really delicious and a great option for indoor cooking.
More Grilling Recipes
If you love this BBQ chicken recipe, make sure to check out all our other amazing chicken recipes here. Or, here are links to some of my favorites for the grill.
Podcast Episode: Grilling BBQ Chicken Thighs
Listen to me explain briefly about how to make this recipe, with some great tips along the way, by clicking the play button below:
Listen to more Recipe of the Day episodes here.
Print
BBQ Grilled Chicken Thighs Recipe
These are perfectly grilled BBQ chicken thighs that have great char and caramelization, while also still having sticky, saucy sauce.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Entrée
- Method: Grilled
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp. smoked paprika
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
- 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
- 1 and 1/4 lbs. boneless skinless chicken thighs (5-6 thighs)
- 2 Tbsp. cooking oil
- 1/2 cup barbeque sauce
Instructions
- Preheat grill for direct cooking over medium-high heat.*
- To a large bowl add the smoked paprika, onion powder, salt, black pepper, and cayenne. Stir to mix. Then stir in the oil.
- Unroll the chicken thighs to expose the most surface area, and add to the bowl with the oil mixture. Stir to coat evenly.
- Lay the thighs flat (unrolled) on the heated grill, directly over the heat source. Put the cover on the grill and let thighs cook undisturbed for 5 minutes.
- Flip the thighs over and cook, covered, for 2 minutes. Brush the tops of the chicken thighs with about half of the BBQ sauce and then continue to cook them sauced-side-up and covered for 2 more minutes.
- Flip the chicken thighs so they’re sauced-side-down and brush the tops with the remaining half of the sauce. Continue to grill the chicken until fully-cooked, another 1-4 minutes. Do not flip again. Test that they’re cooked with an instant-read thermometer, which should read a minimum of 165°F, or cut into one in the thickest part and make sure it’s no longer pink inside.
- Once done, transfer thighs to a clean plate and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
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Notes
*Medium-high heat is when your grill is between 400-450°F. If your grill doesn’t have a thermometer, use the Motorboat Test: With palms facing down, hold your hands 5 inches above the grill grates and count the number of seconds you can keep them there before pulling away (“one-motorboat, two-motorboat, three-motorboat”). If you can keep them there for about 3 seconds (2 to 4 seconds) the temperature is about right.
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