BBQ Chicken

By Sam Sifton

Updated July 31, 2025

  • Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Spencer Richards.
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
45 minutes
Rating
4(2,876)
Comments
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Barbecued chicken isn’t, really: It’s grilled rather than smoke-roasted at low temperature. But it requires a similar attention to technique. You’ll want to move the pieces around on the grill to keep them from burning, and flip them often as well. Cooking barbecued chicken benefits from a basting technique used by the chef and outdoor cooking maven Adam Perry Lang, who thins out his sauce with water, then paints it onto the meat he’s cooking coat after coat, allowing it to reduce and intensify rather than seize up and burn.

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Ingredients

Yield:6 to 8 servings

  • 1 cup barbecue sauce (see recipe)

  • 6 to 8 chicken legs (drumsticks and thighs) skin-on, bone-in, about 3 ½ to 4 pounds

  • Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 to 8 servings)

15 grams carbs; 280 milligrams cholesterol; 707 calories; 20 grams monosaturated fat; 10 grams polyunsaturated fat; 13 grams saturated fat; 48 grams fat; 1 gram fiber; 852 milligrams sodium; 50 grams protein; 12 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Build a fire in your grill, leaving one side free of coals. When coals are covered with gray ash and the temperature is medium (you can hold your hand 5 inches above the coals for 5 to 7 seconds), you are ready to cook. (For a gas grill, turn one of the burners down to low or off, lower cover and heat for 15 minutes.)

  2. Step 2

    Meanwhile, combine barbecue sauce with 1 cup water and stir to combine. Set aside.

  3. Step 3

    Sprinkle the chicken pieces generously with salt and pepper, then put them on the grill directly over the coals and cook for about 15 minutes, turning once every 5 minutes or so, and brushing with the thinned barbecue sauce. When the chicken skin starts to crisp and darken, move the pieces to the cooler side of the grill and let them cook for 15 to 20 minutes more, or until a peek inside shows that the meat no longer has any red at the center.

  4. Step 4

    Move the chicken back onto the hot side of the grill and baste with sauce again, turning the meat a few times. Remove to a warmed platter and serve.

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FAQS

  1. You sure can. Let it cool completely, wrap it in plastic wrap or resealable plastic bags, then freeze it for up to three months. Thaw in the refrigerator before reheating.

Ratings

4 out of 5
2,876 user ratings
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Comments

breezyvalley

Every recipe should start with "don't get drunk" lol

barry

you forgot a most important step, maybe the most important: salt the chicken the day before.
and another important point: it's the 21st century: get an instant-read thermometer. when breast meat is 160-165F, it's perfect; thigh meat should be 185-205F.

William Shaw

Brining helps poultry and pork. Just don't get drunk, as I have been known to do, and forget to take the meat out of the salt. In that case, don't try to salvage. It is not much good at that point. Throw the meat away and start anew.

This is apropos of nothing, but the NYT's cuisine-team is brilliant. I really do pay attention in my few moments of lucidity.

Shannon

I haven't made this so you can skip over my commentary, but I am willing to bet that I have grilled more chickens that Sam Sifton ever will, and why he things the right thing to do is to grill over direct heat and then play musical chairs with your chicken is a mystery to me. Just grill it over indirect heat. 15 minutes one side, 10 minutes the other, more or less, and stop dancing with your chickens.

Andy Hess

Hmmm. IMHO, while I agree that BBQ'ing is not "smoking" (Low, indirect heat), I disagree that it is "grilling" (Food cooked over direct heat source). BBQ'ing is in the middle: Food cooked over indirect heat - hotter than smoking but much cooler than grilling. Harder to do on a kettle type cooker. Better result from a dedicated offset heat cooker commonly thought of as a "smoker" - Between 200 - 350 degrees. The kettle method result is more grilled than BBQ'd.

Trish

I precook my chicken in the oven at 275 until internal temp is 155. Then place on high heat grill for 2 min per side. Perfectly moist on the inside and seared on the outside. No flare ups or redness near the bone.

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