This Sticky-Sweet BBQ Chicken Is Made in the Oven

2024/04/15

I love BBQ chicken as much as the next person, but sometimes it's just too hot outside to stand over the grill. For those who prefer the air conditioned indoors this time of year, give this oven-baked chicken a whirl. It's one of those perfectly and excellent to add to your . The sauce is so simple and yummy. It starts with a bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce, but then you stir in sweet peach preserves, garlic, and hot sauce to really jazz it up.

What cut of chicken do you use for oven BBQ chicken?

I don't think there's anything more flavorful and juicy than . Bonus: they're relatively cheap, too.

Perfect for feeding a crowd! Chicken legs would be delicious too, though. You can use any chicken you'd like, but bone-in, skin-on works best.

How do you keep BBQ chicken from drying out?

Unfortunately, it's sort of easy to overcook chicken on a hot grill... especially if you're using boneless chicken breasts or can't find your . The good news is that this recipe cooks the chicken in the oven! It takes the guesswork out of the whole process and results in juicy chicken every time. Chicken thighs are also a fattier cut and a little more forgiving.

What temperature do you bake BBQ chicken?

I think 400 degrees is perfect for this chicken. It keeps the chicken juicy while also cooking it through in less than an hour. A short stint beneath the broiler results in nice, crispy texture.

Do you put barbecue sauce on chicken before or after baking?

For this chicken, you'll brush on the sauce about halfway through cooking. Because there's a good amount of sugar in the sauce, you don't want the sauce in the oven for too long or it could burn. So first, roast the thighs with just olive oil, salt, and pepper. Then, after 25 minutes, brush on some sauce and pop the chicken back into the oven for seven minutes.

Repeat that a few more times, then crank the oven to broil for a few minutes to get the sauce sticky and caramelized. Once the sauce starts to brown around the edges, it's done.

What do you serve with oven BBQ chicken?

If you're making it for 4th of July pull out all the stops with : , the self-titled , , and an for dessert. If you're just making it for dinner tonight, keep it simple with .

3 c.

your favorite BBQ sauce

1/2 c.

peach preserves

clove garlic, grated

Hot sauce, optional

Olive oil for brushing

bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs

1 tsp.

kosher salt

1/2 tsp.

ground black pepper

Step 1 In a medium saucepan, combine the BBQ sauce, peach preserves, garlic, and hot sauce. Heat over medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes, or until nice and hot. Set aside. Step 2 Preheat oven to 400°F. Step 3 Drizzle olive oil on 2 foil-lined rimmed baking sheets and place the chicken thighs skin-side down in the pans. Sprinkle the chicken evenly with the salt and pepper. Step 4 Roast for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven briefly, brush sauce all over the thighs, then use a spatula to flip them over to the other side, being careful not to tear the skin. Brush the tops with more sauce and return to the oven for 7 minutes.

Remove from oven, brush on more sauce, and return to the oven for another 7 minutes. Remove from oven, brush on sauce, and turn up the temperature to 425°F. Continue roasting for another 5 to 7 minutes, or until the sauce is starting to brown around the edges and the thighs are totally cooked through. Remove from the oven and let sit for at least 10 minutes before serving. Delicious!

Will Dickey

I can't believe the 4th of July is almost here. I have so many questions!

Anyway, I’ll be sorting out the answers to those questions in the coming days. Please light a candle for me. But in the meantime, I wanted to share this luscious recipe for BBQ chicken made right in the comfort of your own kitchen. Because you know what? Even though 4th of July is a big grilling holiday, that doesn’t mean that everyone:

1. Has a grill
2. Is able to grill
3. Knows how to grill
4. Wants to grill
5. Believes in grilling

6. Finds joy in grilling
7. Enjoys sweating, coughing, and singed arm hair.

Friends, this chicken is divine. Just ask my nephew. He was over for the day on Saturday when I whipped up a batch, and he absolutely devoured it. Then, in church yesterday, he leaned forward right after communion and said, “Aunt Ree, I think you should make that barbecue chicken on the 4th of July.”

If you knew my nephew, who is never particularly enthusiastic about food in general, you’d understand just what a ringing endorsement that really was.

Drizzle some olive oil onto a rimmed sheet pan.

Use your fingers or a brush to coat the surface of the pan. (You’ll need the brush later, so you might as well!)

Grab some chicken thighs and place them skin side down on the pan.

Of course, you can use any kind of chicken you’d like.

Legs are delicious, too. But I don’t think there’s anything more delicious than juicy, flavorful chicken thighs, and they’re relatively cheap, especially if you buy them in big family packs. Perfect for a 4th of July crowd!

Dab them dry with a paper towel…Then sprinkle them with some salt and pepper.

And stick ’em in a 400 degree oven for about 25 minutes.

I do them skin-side down for the first stage of cooking so the bottom (the non-skin side) of the thighs will have a chance to cook.

Now, while the chicken is cooking for the first stage, make the BBQ sauce. You have several options here: One, you can make your own sauce from scratch using ketchup, brown sugar, white vinegar, molasses, Worcestershire sauce, salt…things like that. Two, you can just use a good sauce out of a bottle.

For these, I did both!

Pour some jarred BBQ sauce into a saucepan.

Then grab some peach preserves…

And add it in. This just adds a little extra flavor, sweetness, and glorious stickiness.

Then grate in a couple of cloves of garlic! (You can also just mince it finely and add.)

Now just heat it over medium heat until it’s very hot and the flavors have had a chance to combine.

Then set it aside and wait for the chicken to be done with its first stage of cooking.

The 25 minutes are up! And this chicken, I have to say, looks pretty durn pitiful.

But it won’t be pitiful for long. Brush a generous amount of sauce on each thigh…

Then use a spatula to scoop each one up, being careful not to tear the skin. (This is why I oiled the pan first; keeps the skin from sticking to the pan.)

Flip them over to the other side so the skin side is up.

Brush sauce on the flip side, then return the pan to the oven for 7 more minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven, brush on more sauce, then pop it back into the oven for another 7 minutes.

Then do it again: pull it out, brush on sauce, and back into the oven.

After another 7 minutes, remove the pan from the oven and brush on more sauce, then crank up the heat to 425 and let the chicken cook for 5 minutes or so…