A few things to remember about chicken, barbecue, and grilling: always use tongs to handle your meat, store-bought sauce isn’t worth the gas you used to go pick it up, and it is really hard to screw up BBQ Chicken.
This recipe calls for using the same cuts of chicken. This assures that everything will be cooked on the same timeline. Chicken with the bone in it generally takes a bit longer to cook.
That said, feel free to play around with this recipe. You will find another recipe in our book for a different barbecue sauce. Consider them interchangeable and yourselves lucky to get a two-fer.
½ gallon (2 L) water
2 tablespoons kosher salt
¼ cup (60 mL) honey
2 cloves garlic, smashed
6 pounds (3 kg) chicken leg/thigh quarters, skin on
1 6-ounce (180 mL) can tomato paste
1½ cups (375 mL) chicken broth
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup (75 g) shallots, finely chopped
1 tablespoon (15 ml) Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons (30 ml) apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil
1 tablespoon (15 ml) honey
1 teaspoon (5 ml) prepared horseradish
1 teaspoon (5 ml) salt
2 teaspoons (10 ml) black pepper
2 teaspoons (10 ml) ground cumin
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Brine the chicken
- Mix water, salt, honey, and smashed garlic in large plastic sealable bag.
- When combined, place chicken in bag, seal, and place in refrigerator for 1–2 hours (25 minutes will do if you’re in a hurry).
Make the sauce
- In medium sauce pan, combine remaining ingredients. Whisk thoroughly to combine and place on low heat. Cover and allow to simmer for 30–40 minutes.
Cook the chicken
- When your sauce has almost reached the thickness desired, preheat the grill. Set aside half of the sauce to serve with chicken and the other half will be brushed on while cooking. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Remove chicken from brine and pat dry with a paper towel. Be sure your grill surface has been properly coated to prevent sticking. The ideal temperature for the grill is around 375°F (190°C).
- Arrange chicken on grill for direct heat and cook 6–8 minutes before flipping. Flip chicken over, and using a grill brush, smother chicken liberally with barbeque sauce. Cook for another 6-8 minutes and remove to sheet pan lined with foil.
- Using a grill brush, smother every inch of the chicken with sauce and place in oven for another 15 minutes or until internal temperature of chicken reaches 160°F (70°C). You’ll want to baste chicken one more time while they are in the oven.
Tips & Tricks—Avoid using the oven by simply cooking chicken on grill for 15 minutes each side.
Plan Ahead—You can brine your chicken overnight and have the barbeque sauce made in advance.
More Recipes You'll Love
Julie's barbecue chicken is the grilling recipe that converts people to homemade BBQ sauce for life. Chicken leg quarters get a quick honey-garlic brine, then grill over direct heat while being painted with a from-scratch tomato paste sauce spiked with Dijon, horseradish, and cumin.
Pro Tips
- The short brine — water, kosher salt, honey, and smashed garlic — seasons the meat through and keeps the leg quarters juicy over the grill's direct heat; even 25 minutes helps.
- Split the sauce in half before grilling: one batch goes on the chicken as it cooks, and the rest stays clean as a finishing sauce at the table.
- Keep the grill around 375°F (190°C) and cook 6–8 minutes per side. Because the sauce contains honey and tomato paste, it scorches easily, so only brush it on once the chicken is mostly cooked through.
- Pat the chicken completely dry after the brine and oil the grill grates well — dry skin is what stops sticking and gives you those lacquered grill marks.
- Use tongs, not a fork, to handle the quarters so the juices stay in the meat rather than running out onto the coals.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make the barbecue sauce ahead of time?
Definitely — simmer the tomato paste sauce until thick, cool it, and refrigerate for up to a week. It thickens further as it cools, so loosen with a little water when you rewarm it.
Is the barbecue sauce paleo?
Yes, this sauce is built on tomato paste, apple cider vinegar, Dijon, and honey instead of bottled sauce with refined sugar. Check your mustard and horseradish labels for sneaky additives.
Can I cook this chicken in the oven instead of on the grill?
Roast the brined quarters at 375°F (190°C) until nearly done, then brush with sauce and finish under the broiler to caramelize the glaze, watching closely so the honey doesn't burn.
How long should I brine the chicken?
One to two hours in the fridge is ideal; 25 minutes will do if you're short on time. Don't go much past 2 hours or the texture of the meat starts to change.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
Method
- Mix water, salt, honey, and smashed garlic in large plastic sealable bag.
- When combined, place chicken in bag, seal, and place in refrigerator for 1–2 hours (25 minutes will do if you’re in a hurry).
- Cook the chicken
- When your sauce has almost reached the thickness desired, preheat the grill.
- Set aside half of the sauce to serve with chicken and the other half will be brushed on while cooking.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Remove chicken from brine and pat dry with a paper towel. Be sure your grill surface has been properly coated to prevent sticking. The ideal temperature for the grill is around 375°F (190°C).
- Arrange chicken on grill for direct heat and cook 6–8 minutes before flipping.
- Flip chicken over, and using a grill brush, smother chicken liberally with barbeque sauce.
- Cook for another 6-8 minutes and remove to sheet pan lined with foil.
- Using a grill brush, smother every inch of the chicken with sauce and place in oven for another 15 minutes or until internal temperature of chicken reaches 160°F (70°C). You’ll want to baste chicken one more time while they are in the oven.
