Nothing beats the tenderness of grilled boneless, skinless chicken thighs. This simple recipe for grilled sweet-n-spicy chicken thighs brings a little spiciness and a little sweetness. Although you could use the rub and glaze on white meat chicken or even pork, it works best with the richness of a chicken thigh. Moist and tender doesn’t even come close to describing this chicken. And ‘flavorful’ doesn’t do it justice enough. The rub has just a slight spiciness to it. Nothing too strong, but you’ll get a hint of it. The glaze is simple yet it brings a bit of sweetness and tartness.
Any Chicken Will Do
I prefer boneless skinless chicken when I make something like these grilled sweet-n-spicy chicken thighs. You could substitute boneless skinless chicken breasts instead. I would recommend butterflying them first. That way you get nice even cooking. Those big breasts are easy to overcook on the outside if you don’t butterfly them first.
Also try my grilled Dijon chicken thighs and my grilled honey-rosemary thighs. For low-and-slow, try my awesome smoked chicken thighs.
Grilled Sweet-n-Spicy Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
For the chicken
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of any large pieces of fat
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
For the rub
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon chipotle chili powder
For the glaze
- ½ cup honey
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Prepare your grill for direct and indirect cooking.
- Place the chicken into a large bowl and drizzle with the oil. Toss to coat.
- Combine the rub ingredients in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the chicken, tossing as you go.
- Grill chicken over direct heat 2-3 minutes per side just long enough to get grill marks and a little color. Remove to indirect heat and cool until internal temperature reaches 155 F.
- Microwave the honey in a bowl or cup for 20 seconds. Stir in the vinegar.
- Reserve 2 tablespoons of the glaze. Brush remaining glaze (you may not need all of it), over the chicken as it cooks to completion, 165 F internally.
- Serve chicken drizzled with reserved glaze.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are approximate.
