Barbecued Chicken

This recipe for bbq chicken is tangy, sweet, and incredibly easy to make. First you prepare a simple sauce with ketchup, brown sugar, molasses, vinegar, and garlic. The mixture is briefly cooked on the stovetop until the flavors meld, then it’s time to take it outside to the grill (or over to the grill pan, if you’re making this indoors). Then, the sauce is brushed on the chicken for the last few minutes of grilling—only adding it toward the end of cooking ensures the sugars don’t become too dark and burn.

Pair this saucy, flavorful chicken with your favorite summer sides like corn on the cob, potato salad, and baked beans. You can also use this sauce on other proteins such as ribs, pork tenderloin, or tofu, or try it next time you make pulled pork or chicken.

Key Ingredients—and Alternatives

Chicken: This recipe calls for a whole, cut-up chicken, which provides a nice mixture of light and dark meat, but if you'd prefer, you can swap in all breasts, leg quarters, or drumsticks. Tossing the chicken with oil before grilling helps to keep it from sticking to the grates.

Ketchup: Leaning on ketchup instead of tomato sauce or paste is one of the smart shortcuts in this recipe. It helps reduce the amount of time the barbecue sauce needs to cook while also adding some sweet-tangy flavor.

Cider vinegar: To help counteract some of the sweeter elements in the sauce, we use apple cider vinegar. If needed, you can swap in distilled white vinegar, white-wine vinegar, or rice vinegar instead.

Molasses: We love the depth that unsulphured molasses lends this sauce. If you have trouble locating it, you can use maple syrup or dark corn syrup instead.

Light brown sugar: Light brown sugar contributes delicious sweetness to this barbecue sauce while also helping the sauce char on the grill. You can use dark brown sugar instead of light, or even white granulated sugar, though with granulated sugar you will notice that the sauce will have a bit less complexity. When measuring brown sugar for a recipe, always pack it into your spoon or cup for the most accurate measurement.

3 Tips for Making Barbecued Chicken

1. Separate the Sauce: After making the sauce, divide it into two bowls. That way, you can use some to brush onto the chicken while it's grilling (but not fully cooked), and reserve some for the very end. This helps mitigate the risks of cross contamination—something you'll want to be especially mindful of when dealing with undercooked chicken.
2. Clean and Oil Your Grates: Once your grill is preheated, it's always a good idea to use a grill brush to clean the grates, then oil them well. To do so, fold a couple paper towels into a small rectangle, grip with tongs, and dip into vegetable oil; brush generously onto the hot grates, repeating until they're dark and shiny.
   
3. Brush, Turn, and Repeat: When the chicken is nearly cooked, begin brushing it all over with sauce from the first bowl. Turn the pieces after brushing and continue brushing and turning until the chicken is cooked through and sauced to your liking. Once the chicken is fully cooked, you can give it one last glaze from the last bowl or simply serve it with the extra sauce.