This is the grilled chicken recipe my friends beg me to make every BBQ season. It’s sticky, sweet and savoury, marinated to tenderise and infuse with flavour. The shiny glaze is the cherry on top. The smell when the chicken hits the BBQ is outrageous. Outrageous!
(And you don’t even need a BBQ….)
Grilled Chicken
I feel like the flavour of this marinade will be familiar to everyone, even if you haven’t made something like it yourself before. It’s a bit like Barbecue Sauce, sort of like a country rub, with a hint of sweet and sour sauce.
My friends describe it as a Country Style Barbecue Sauce Chicken, which is a good way to describe it. But it’s kind of a mouthful to say – so I just call it a Sticky Grilled Chicken!!
This grilled chicken is finished with the most incredible shiny glaze!
Sticky Chicken Marinade & Glaze
Here’s what you need for the marinade which doubles as the basting sauce so you get a really fantastic glaze on the chicken.
What I really love about this marinade is that it’s made with pantry staples – and there’s loads of substitution options and ways to customise it. Want a hit of heat? Add a dash of hot sauce! Try a sprinkle of dried herbs, a squeeze of lemon, a touch of ginger, or a good hit of extra black pepper!
Also – I’ve listed substitution options in the notes to the recipe. 😇
Sticky Grilled Chicken TIPS!
Want to be the grilled chicken KING in your neighbourhood?? Here are some tips so your chicken will be beautifully golden, ultra sticky and super glossy!!
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Boneless CHICKEN THIGHS is the best cut of chicken for this sticky marinade. The length of time it takes for the chicken to cook on the BBQ is perfect to achieve that beautiful golden colour. Breast works too but the caramelisation isn’t quite as good. Bone in pieces like drumsticks and thigh take too long to cook and the chicken can get quite dark before the inside is cooked.
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RESERVE some of the marinade to use for basting. You can use the leftover marinade in the bowl, but you’ll need to be careful to ensure the basted side is recooked for at least 1 minute before consuming to avoid any hygiene concerns about raw chicken in the marinade. Much easier to just reserve some clean marinade for basting!
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MEDIUM heat – If you want a sticky chicken, you need sugar in the marinade. And sweet marinades have a tendency to burn quite easily on the BBQ. The trick here is to cook is slightly longer on a medium heat.
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BASTE GENEROUSLY multiple times! Baste flip, baste flip!
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REST the chicken for a few minutes after taking it off the stove, for extra juicy, tender chicken.
No BBQ?
No problem! Bake it or pan fry it – instructions in the recipe!
Complete your BBQ!
Whether you’re grilling outdoors midweek or throwing a big BBQ for your friends on the weekend, sides are a must!
Warm weather favourites for this grilled chicken that are ideal for making in big batches and keeping in the fridge for days and days!) include a classic Macaroni Salad (pictured below), Coleslaw or Potato Salad (here’s also a no-mayo version with charred corn and bacon!)
For something a little lighter, try a Lemon Potato Salad (no mayo!), Broccoli Salad, a creamy German Cucumber Salad, a big juicy Greek Salad or Corn Salad with Avocado.
For some side dishes to cook on the BBQ, look no further than Grilled Corn and Grilled GARLIC BREAD!! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Sticky Grilled Chicken
Ingredients
- 700g/ 1.4lb chicken thighs , skinless boneless (Note 1)
Marinade / Glaze (Note 2 for subs):
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1/3 cup brown sugar , packed
- 1/4 cup soy sauce , all purpose or light (NOT dark)
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 4 garlic cloves , minced
Instructions
- Mix Marinade in a large bowl.
- Scoop out 1/2 cup and reserve for basting ("Glaze").
- Add chicken, turn to coat. Marinade overnight (minimum 3 hours, up to 48 hours, or freeze).
Grill:
- Brush BBQ with vegetable or canola oil, then preheat to medium.
- Pick up chicken, allowing excess Marinade to drip off.
- Place on BBQ, cook 4 minutes until nicely caramelised.
- Turn chicken, then brush generously with Glaze. Cook 4 minutes.
- Flip, brush with more Glaze, flip again and brush with Glaze.
- Remove chicken onto plate, cover loosely with foil.
- Rest 3 minutes before serving, sprinkled with parsley if using. Pictured in post with Macaroni Salad!
Stove/Oven:
- Stove - follow up steps in a non stick pan, heated to medium high with 1 tbsp oil (cook in batches if needed).
- Oven - use this recipe: Sticky Baked Chicken
Recipe Notes:
- Ketchup - Aussie tomato sauce, BBQ sauce or other similar sauces
- Brown Sugar- white sugar, or 2 tbsp honey, maple syrup, or any other sweet thing in similar liquid form
- Soy Sauce - light or all purpose soy sauce, don't use dark it will be too intense. Fish sauce would also work but reduce to 1 tbsp.
- Apple Cider Vinegar - sub with any clear(ish) plain vinegars eg plain white vinegar, white wine vinegar, rice vinegar, champagne vinegar etc.
- Worcestershire sauce - add 1/4 tsp black pepper then add an extra dash of all the other ingredients. A sprinkle of onion and/or garlic powder on the chicken before coating in sauce would also help.
- Add ins - dash if your favourite hot sauce wouldn't go astray! Pinch of herbs (mixed, oregano, thyme), cayenne pepper for heat, sprinkle of paprika for warmth, cumin or coriander for South-West edge.
Nutrition Information:
More Grilled Chicken Recipes
Life of Dozer
“Everyone” used to mock Dozer and his robe….
Turns out, he’s a Trail Blazer!!! 😂
Made this for dinner the other night to rave reviews! The whole family loved the chicken and the marinade couldn’t be easier to put together. Going to add this to our go-to recipe list.
Served with the Corn Salad with Avocado and the Grilled Garlic Bread.
Best marinade I’ve ever tried – and I’ve tried hundreds. 😍😍
Always a surprise in store for a simple piece of chicken to take on so many delicious ways.
Many thanks
Can you confirm, do I use ketchup or tomato sauce?
Made this for dinner tonight using dissected chicken quarters. It was so good. It took a little longer on the grill with the bone-in chicken but it was so worth it. The sauce is superb.
I served the grilled chicken with pan fried potatoes and grilled pineapple.
This smelled so good on the BBQ and we loved the flavour – a great outdoor dish that we paired with your Macaroni Salad – Delicious all around!
So so good! Absolutely love your work Nagi 👏
My wife commented MOST favourably on the sauce (it spilled over onto the vegetables), even before she got to the chicken 🙂
Nagi, you’ve done it again. TY
Am a big fan of your work 🙂
As a PS, next time I won’t reserve any of the marinade, as the remainder of the marinade provided enough for basting.
Chees
Really lovely marinade, easy to put together without much prep as you should have most of the ingredients already. Only thing I’d say is you don’t need to marinade your chicken for 4 – 24 hours. If you are short for time and using chicken thigh or breast, cut in half or butterfly, marinade for maybe 30-60 minutes, and when cooking just keep basting. I basted about 4 times over the 15-20 min cook time and it tasted amazing. Too be honest I probably wouldn’t want to marinade it for much longer as there is a lot of sweetness in the marinade so might be a bit too much. Would also recommend using a bit less brown sugar, and increase the vinegar to balance it out (my personal preference at least).
Did this on boneless chicken thighs and it was perfect
Another keeper
Have I already reviewed this? Maybe! Is it worth re-iterating my love for it? YES! This is genuinely the best grilled chicken recipe I’ve ever had. I live in an apartment complex, and strangers actually walk past asking what I’m making and where to find the recipe. I have put so many friends and family onto this recipe. It’s just the best and dominates over bottled bbq sauce!
Love this recipe, make it all the time! But I accidentally put in 2tbs of Worcestershire sauce instead of 4 teaspoons! I don’t have enough ketchup to do another batch will it be ok? Do I need to adjust anything else? Help!!! 😂
Hi Tory – that is only 2 teaspoons too many so it should be ok – just taste it and see if you need to add a bit more sugar to balance it! N x
Yummy 😋 I love this
Hi Nagi! I love all of your recipes but this is one of my all time favorites. My family also loves it so I make it about once a week. I also love the Dozer stories. He is a cutie!
Yum! This marinade is lovely! I used chicken breasts and chicken breast cutlets and cooked in cast iron and the family loved it.
This will be great on the grill. I’m going to do this with tofu next so I can enjoy it too 😉
Very yummy Nagi and so simple. We all loved it. I only do chicken thighs these days. Always so tender and juicy.
Perfect Debbie!! N x
Another great recipe Nagi! Turned out perfect with just a little char here and there and the caramelization yum! I love Dozers robe but I think you are the trail blazer 😉
I was never one for chicken thighs before, but this recipe was AWESOME! The chicken was tender, flavorful, and delicious. It’s made me want to explore more chicken thigh recipes. Nagi, of course, is my go-to! Thanks for another great recipe. Paired it with your macaroni salad (which gets even better over time!), and the meal was a huge hit! I’m telling everyone about it. Can’t wait to explore more recipes!
This is the best! Made it exactly as written and the family loved it! Using this sauce for grilled chicken pineapple kabobs next! Will have to try a few of your side dishes. Thank you for your great recipes and directions… always spot on🙌😀