I love the rustle of aluminum foil when it is peeled back to reveal perfectly barbequed chicken. Chicken that is so tender and juicy it falls off of your fork and leaves a big plop of BBQ sauce on the front of your shirt.
Now, that is some good BBQ chicken!
Whether you like your BBQ chicken sticky and sweet, tangy with a vinegar sauce, tart and mustardy, or with a dry spice rub, we have some fantastic BBQ chicken recipes you can feather your nest with.
We have three of the best BBQ chicken recipes from the oven, to the crockpot and also the grill. BBQ chicken can be grilled, smoked or slow roasted into a delicious meal for two or for a large family gathering or picnic.
There are so many creative ways to season and enhance the flavor of BBQ chicken from seasoning sauce to chicken rub.
Jimmy’s Sauces has BBQ chicken rub and sauce that you can use in any of these recipes to add a little “down home” gourmet flavor.
BBQ Chicken Recipe for the Oven
One of our family’s favorite BBQ chicken recipes for the oven are Dee Dee’s Baked BBQ Drumsticks. Adults love them because they actually have more meat than chicken wings and kids like the fact that they are called drum sticks and you can dip them in your favorite dressing or BBQ sauce.
Ingredients:
12 chicken drumsticks (about 4 pounds)
3-4 Tablespoons of Jimmy’s General Seasoning Salt (or other seasoning salt)
2 Tablespoons of chili powder
2 Tablespoons of smoked paprika
2 Tablespoons of ground ginger
1.5 cups of BBQ sauce
½ cup of Jimmy’s Steak Sauce (or other steak sauce)
Directions:
Rinse chicken drumsticks and pat dry with a paper towel. Preheat the oven to 350F. Put the chicken to the side and in a small mixing bowl, combine the chicken seasoning, chili powder, paprika and ginger to create your dry rub.
Rub the drumsticks in the dry rub and allow to sit for 30 minutes to an hour in the fridge. Place chicken drumsticks on a cooling rack (one you use for cookies) and place the cooling rack on top of a foil lined baking sheet. (This allows for easy cleanup and keeps the chicken from getting soggy).
Bake chicken for 40 minutes. Mix together Jimmy’s Steak Sauce and BBQ sauce and brush it on one side of the drumsticks. Bake for another 10 minutes and continue to turn the drumsticks and brush with BBQ sauce until they are crispy.
It will be about 2 or 3 times for a total of 30 more minutes. After they are cooked through, you can broil them for 2 minutes per side if you prefer your chicken to be extra crisp. Serve with Jimmy’s BBQ dipping sauce, celery, carrots and blue cheese.
BBQ Chicken Recipe for the Crockpot
We all seem to be in a rush these days, and so we are eating in the car or picking up fast food to eat at home before the next activity. Here are some recipes that can be prepared ahead, put in zip lock freezer bags to freeze and then pulled out before you go to work in the morning to thaw.
It’s “fast food” but better for you and tastes better, too. This Sticky Asian BBQ Chicken for the slow cooker is super easy and definitely one to put in the weekly rotation.
Ingredients:
-Chicken (3-5 breasts or 8-10 thighs)
-2 Tablespoons of vegetable oil
-1 Tablespoon of soy sauce
-1 teaspoon of Jimmy’s General Seasoning Salt
-3 Tablespoons of peanut butter
-1 Tablespoon of ketchup
Directions:
Cook in the crock pot on low for 4-6 hours. Serve with spring rolls, steamed white or brown rice and fortune cookies.
Another effortless crockpot BBQ chicken recipe is Sammy’s Shredded BBQ Crockpot Chicken.
Ingredients:
1.5 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce
¼ cup of brown sugar
¼ cup of white vinegar
1 Tablespoon of Jimmy’s Steak Sauce(or other steak sauce)
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of onion powder
A few shakes of red pepper flakes.
Directions:
First, place the chicken breasts in the crock pot. In a small bowl, combine the BBQ sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, Jimmy’s Sauce, garlic and onion powder and red pepper flakes.
Whisk together and pour over the top of the chicken in the crockpot. Cover and cook in the crockpot on low for 4 to 4 ½ hours. Serve with potato salad and coleslaw.
BBQ Chicken Recipe for the Grill
The trick to BBQ chicken on the grill is how you prepare it. It is best to marinate your chicken for at least an hour in a well-balanced and seasoned marinade like Jimmy’s Steak Sauce.
If you skip this step, your BBQ chicken might be so dry and tough that you have to wash it down with a bottle of BBQ sauce! (Now don’t get me wrong, BBQ sauce is delicious and important but we don’t want the chicken to drown before we get a chance to eat it!)
If you are cooking over charcoal, you can use the time it takes to marinate to light the charcoal and get it to the perfect temperature. You can also kick your feet up and shoot the breeze with your guests for a little while and enjoy your company.
Once the grill is ready and the chicken has been marinated, season it well with seasoning, salt, and pepper and grill it skin side down for about 15 minutes.
Using a basting brush, brush the chicken with BBQ sauce and cook another 20 minutes, continuing to add more sauce as the chicken cooks.
You can also throw some corn on the edge of the grill. It only takes corn about 15 or 20 minutes. Just make sure you turn it over a few times. If it is sweet corn, there is no need to really add anything to it but if you love butter like I do, you can add a little smear of it on each side.
BBQ Chicken Wing Recipe
Having some of the guys over to watch the game or for your fantasy football league draft? Maybe you are having girl’s night at your house for the season premiere of your favorite TV series?
Chicken wings are a crowd favorite and can be served with all kinds of crunchy and savory sides and dipping sauces. (They go well with beer, too!)
One of the most popular wing flavors that most people like is BBQ flavored chicken wings. They are not too spicy and not too bland, so they go over well with most guests.
Here’s an easy recipe for BBQ chicken wings!
First, preheat the oven to 425F. Toss and coat prewashed and patted dry wings in 2 tablespoons of canola oil and 2 tablespoons of a BBQ Sauce like Jimmy’s Steak Sauce. Next, mix together 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, smoked paprika, onion powder, chili powder, and brown sugar.
Rub the seasoning of your choice on the wings that have already been coated in the oil and steak sauce. Arrange chicken wings on a wire cooling rack that is set on a foil lined cookie sheet.
After 20 minutes, turn the wings and bake another 20 minutes for a total of 40 minutes. Turn the temp up to 500 and broil for another 2-3 minutes to get the wings crispy. Serve with your favorite BBQ sauce for dipping!
Recipe for a Tender BBQ Chicken Breast
What is your favorite flavor and style of BBQ sauce? Alabama white sauce, Eastern North Carolina sauce, Western, North Carolina Sauce, or the tangy sweet mustard-based sauce that spreads from South Carolina over into West Georgia and on into Eastern Alabama?
Whatever your flavor, we can probably all agree it tastes a whole lot better when it is made from scratch!
This is a traditional BBQ sauce recipe for Aunt Judy’s Tender BBQ Chicken. Aunt Judy prefers to use BBQ chicken breast on the bone with rib meat. (The bone and rib meat are the secret to making this recipe tender and juicy.)
Aunt Judy’s BBQ Chicken Sauce:
Ingredients:
· 1 cup of lemon juice
· 1 cup of vinegar
· 2 cups of brown sugar (Now you’re talkin’!)
· ¼ cup of yellow mustard
· 4 cups of ketchup
· 1 cup of Jimmy’s Steak Sauce
· 4 Tablespoons of black pepper
· A few shakes of hot sauce (depending on how hot you want it)
Directions:
In a medium saucepan, stir in the lemon juice and vinegar and bring it to a boil. Add in the brown sugar and return to a boil. Next, mix in the remaining ingredients, reduce heat and allow it to simmer for 5 minutes.
This is a delicious BBQ sauce to use with baked BBQ chicken breasts, roasted chicken, and on fried chicken strips served with tater tots or onion rings.
