Name: Honey Bourbon Grilled Chicken Thighs
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 8 min
Total time: 42 min
Ingredients: ¾ cup (175 milliliters) barbeque sauce; 2 Tablespoons honey; 1 ½ Tablespoons bourbon; 1 Tablespoon lemon juice; 1 teaspoon Frank’s red hot sauce; salt to taste; 6 chicken thighs (bone in)

the finished grilled chicken thighs on a white plate

Folks, if you’ve been looking for the perfect summer weeknight meal to cook up on the grill, you’re in the right place. This Honey Bourbon Grilled Chicken Thighs recipe is budget friendly and easy-peasy to make. Yeap, just use your pantry staple ingredients to make this tasty that you marinate the chicken in and toss them right on the grill.

These Grilled Bone In Chicken Thighs are great for BBQ’s, backyard get togethers, picnics and potlucks. They’re the perfect dinner on your portable grill when you’re going camping too. Everyone will loooooove these marinated chicken thighs.

Kids love these chicken thighs on the grill, it’s the perfect summer food. You can easily omit the bourbon or use one of the substitutes listed below to make it a family friendly meal when you’re grilling chicken thighs.

the finished recipe from this learn how to grill chicken thighs recipe

Why You’ll Love This Grilled Chicken

Chicken thighs are packed full of sweet and salty flavors
Affordable weeknight meal
Great for meal prep because they go with everything
Perfect for summer meal on the grill

What Are Grilled Chicken Thighs?

Chicken thighs are made of dark meat from the upper portion of the chicken leg. They’re more tender and have a higher fat count than chicken breasts.

Since they’re dark meat and have more fat, they stay juicier on the grill than chicken breasts do. And they cook better on higher heat, so you can cook them faster on high heat than other pieces of chicken. #summergrillingwinner

close up view of grilled chicken thighs with honey barbecue sauce

Tools You Need

A grill.
Grill pan if preferred.
Handy grilling tongs.
Multipurpose mixing bowls.
Measuring cups and teaspoons.
Glass containers for storing leftovers.
Best ever sea salt flakes.

Soooo, let’s gather up these ingredients and I will show you……

How To Grill Chicken Thighs

Mix barbeque sauce, honey, bourbon, lemon juice, Frank’s Hot Sauce and salt together in a mixing bowl.
Trim excess fat from the chicken if needed. Add the chicken thighs to the bowl and mix to coat the meat.
Allow chicken to marinate for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours.
Use this time to preheat your grill or grill pan up to medium-high heat. You may also use a charcoal grill for indirect grilling.
If using a grill or gridle pan, sear the chicken for 3-4 minutes on each side or until the skin is light brown. If using a charcoal grill, use direct heat to grill for 3-4 minutes each side or until the skin is light brown.
Reduce the heat to medium-low on the grill or gridle pan and cover the grill or gridle pan and cook chicken until it reaches 165F/75C with a meat thermometer. Alternatively, you may want to transfer to a charcoal grill over indirect heat and cook until chicken reaches 165F/75C.
Transfer chicken to a plate once finished cooking and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

image collage showing how to make grilled chicken thighs

Recipe Tips

To make this grilled chicken thighs bone in recipe healthier and lower the calorie count, remove the skin from the chicken before marinating.
If your barbeque sauce is too sweet, you can add between half of tablespoon and a full tablespoon of lemon juice.
Sauce not sweet enough? Add a little extra honey.
For maximum flavor, marinate the chicken thighs for up to 24 hours ahead of time in the refrigerator.
If you prefer “fall off the bone” kind of chicken thighs, cook for a few extra minutes to get your chicken to 180-190F/ 82-88C internal temperature.
To make this chicken recipe safer for kids or alcohol-free, simply omit the bourbon and use one of the substitutes instead.

Recipe Variations

Grilling Chicken Thighs is such an easy dish to make and you’ll love the versatility. You can use any of these variations to make the ultimate chicken dinner.

Change up the bourbon: use whiskey, apple juice or orange juice instead.
Change up the sweetness: maple, date syrup or agave.
Change up the sharpness: lime juice, apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar.
Change up the Frank’s Red Hot Sauce heat: sriracha sauce, red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper.

FAQ

What Kind Of Bourbon Do You Use?

Peeps, my general rule of thumb when cooking with bourbon is, if you have a favorite, then use that. If not, save your expensive bourbon for drinking and enjoying and use your cheaper bourbon for cooking with.

Do You Grill Chicken Thighs Skin Side Up Or Down?

Guys, when grilling your chicken thighs, place them skin side down on the oiled grill grates or oiled grill pan.

How Long Do You Grill Chicken Thighs?

Grilled Chicken Thighs are great for so many reasons. They taste amazing and are super quick to grill. Chicken thighs cook quickly on high heat and can usually be cooked in about 4 minutes on each side.

Chef’s Tip: When cooking meat, it’s important to check the internal temperature using a meat thermometer. Your chicken thighs are cooked and considered safe to eat once the internal temperature reaches 165F/75C.

Meal Prep And Prep Ahead

Prep Ahead – This recipe is so easy to make on the grill. Keep in mind the longer you marinate it, the more flavor the thighs get!

Store – Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Freeze – Follow the handy tips below on how to freeze this.

Let cool down then transfer into these convenient Ziploc freezer bags.
Squeeze out all the extra air and seal the bags.
Label the bags and then lay them flat in the freezer.
Store in the freezer for three months.

Serving Suggestions

More Recipes

Weight Watchers Points

There are 7 Blue Plan SmartPoints in one serving.

Thank you for reading my How to Grill Chicken Thighs recipe post. And please come visit again as I continue to slice, dice and dream up affordable Air Fryer recipes, Instant Pot Recipes, Southern Recipes and more. Thanks for supporting Recipes from a Pantry, food blog.

Get The How To Grill Chicken Thighs Recipe:

Don’t forget to tag #recipesfromapantry on Instagram or Twitter if you try Honey Bourbon Grilled Chicken Thighs! It is really, really awesome for me when you make one of my recipes and I’d love to see it. You can also share it on my Facebook page. Please pin this recipe to Pinterest too! Thank you for reading Recipes from a Pantry.

Print Recipe

5 from 3 votes