This dinner began as a simple request from my wife on a nice summer day — “How about some Hawaiian-style chicken?” I didn’t set out expecting this to be anything special, but it turned out so delicious, it might be the best BBQ chicken I’ve ever done. All four of us nearly licked our plates. I only got one photo because I thought it looked kind of nice on the plate, but I wasn’t planning on writing up a recipe.
Important tips: go with fresh pineapple and make your own BBQ sauce (as described below). I’ve tried dozens upon dozens of store-bought BBQ sauce brands, and I rarely find one that I like half as much as the one I frequently whip up at home. This time, I infused it with pineapple (using chunks from the core) in an attempt to give it a Hawaiian vibe, and it worked great. The flavors from the marinade and the BBQ sauce blend together beautifully and really carry the theme of this dish.
So grab a beer, fire up the grill, and try this fantastic BBQ chicken alongside a summer salad and fresh fruit.
Hawaiian Barbecue Chicken
Course: Main DishesCuisine: American8
servings30
minutes40
minutesSweet and savory grilled BBQ chicken thighs.
Ingredients
6-8 chicken thighs (bone-in, skin on)
- Marinade
1 12oz can coconut milk
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 cup crushed/diced fresh pineapple (or pineapple juice)
1 tbsp sesame oil
4 cloves garlic, diced or crushed
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
- Sauce
1 strip bacon
3/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons molasses
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar (or to taste)
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar (or to taste)
1 tsp ground mustard (or to taste)
3-4 large chunks of fresh pineapple
Directions
- At least 3 hours prior to cooking (up to overnight), prepare the marinade. Mix all ingredients together thoroughly, and pour over the chicken in a sealable bag or airtight container. Put in fridge until ready to grill.
- Preheat grill to medium (300-350F), and while it’s heating prepare the BBQ sauce. In a saucepan, cook the one strip of bacon over medium heat until done. Leave the bacon in the pot, and add ketchup, molasses, brown sugar, vinegar, and ground mustard. Stir to combine, then drop in the pineapple and thyme. Reduce heat to low and allow to very lightly simmer, stirring occasionally. Taste and adjust flavors — if it’s too sharp/acidic, add more sugar. Too sweet, add more vinegar or ground mustard. (When it’s time to serve this sauce, remove the bacon, thyme, and pineapple chunks.)
- Once grill is at temp, grease/spray the grill grates with oil and add the chicken, skin side down. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Allow to cook until the skin on the underside is beginning to get crispy, and shows clear grill marks (timing depends on the size of your thigh pieces and temp of grill, but usually this will be around 15-20 minutes). Flip over, and allow to cook another 10-15 minutes until the internal temperature of the chicken reads around 160F.
- Take about 1/3 cup of the BBQ sauce and lightly brush it onto the skin of the chicken (which is now face up), and cook the chicken another 5-10 minutes, basting one additional time toward the end. Anything over 165F is fine, but with dark fatty meat like thighs it’s great to let it get up into the 180F range because more of the fat melts. Pull it off the grill, let rest for a few minutes, and serve it with the remaining sauce for dipping.