Quick Brined Barbecued Chicken Thighs - Smells Like Home

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Have you ever thought to brine chicken thighs? Brining helps to tenderize the meat and unlike many brining recipes, this quick method for these Brined BBQ Chicken Thighs doesn’t require more than 6 hours of hands-off prep time.

Many years ago, after brining my first turkey for Thanksgiving, I vowed to brine all of the chickens we roasted going forward. 

But let’s be real here: that never happened.

I rarely have enough forethought 12-24 hours in advance of roasting a chicken to put a brine together!

So when I came across a quick brine for chicken thighs one weekend recently, I was all over it.

Brine Ingredients

The ingredient list for a brine is incredibly short and you probably have what you need to make a brine in your kitchen already.

Here’s what you’ll need (keep scrolling down to the recipe card for the full Ingredient list and the brining Instructions):

• water
• granulated sugar
• Kosher salt

How Long Can You Brine Chicken Thighs For?

A 6 hour brine for chicken thighs was perfect for me!

I toss the chicken into the brine at noon. Then, I can take the entire afternoon to work in the yard while fighting off the ever-present bees and mosquitos (I’m a magnet), and reapplying the sunscreen (yes, I burn in my backyard in May).

Around 5ish, I run in to take a shower and then fire up the grill by 6:00. That’s my kind of an easy brine for chicken! 

How Long to BBQ Chicken Thighs

When you want to know about how long does it take to BBQ chicken thighs, you need to remember that boneless chicken thighs take less time to grill than bone-in chicken thighs do. That’s why I’m a much bigger than of cooking with boneless chicken thighs!

Boneless BBQ chicken thighs usually take about 10 minutes to grill over medium-high heat. So, about 5 minutes per side should be your guide. You’ll know when they are done when they reach 165 degrees F on an instant read thermometer.

Bone-in chicken thighs take around 15 to 20 minutes to fully cook on the grill.

For this recipe, however, you’re going to grill the chicken over indirect heat for most of the cooking time. This means, the cooking time is a little longer: 18 minutes total.

Barbecue Sauce for Chicken

Of course the bbq sauce I made for this chicken was just plain stellar, but it really played a supporting role here because the juicy grilled chicken thighs are the stars of the recipe.

This peach bbq sauce would also be incredible slathered on top of these chicken thighs!

And of course, four favorite homemade or store-bought barbecue sauce would be perfect too!

The brined chicken, much like a brined turkey, was tender and moist. And for dark meat, the thighs cooked relatively quickly on the grill.

What to Serve with BBQ Thighs

We served these BBQ chicken thighs alongside some revolutionary bacon ranch potato salad. Potato salad with barbecued chicken is almost a requirement in the summer!

I know our garden Beefsteak tomatoes will perfectly round out this meal during peak tomato season in August every summer too. Sliced tomatoes on their own with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt or as a layered caprese salad would both be excellent alongside this chicken.

Grilled corn, anyone? My recipe has a phenomenal bbq compound butter that melts right into the corn as it grills.

Other outstanding side dishes for this barbecued chicken recipe are my skillet cornbread with honey butter, our favorite Panera mac and cheese recipe, and this easy lemon basil pasta salad.

I love that chicken is such a versatile protein for a great meal, don’t you?!

More Chicken Thighs Recipes You’ll Love

• Lemon Chicken Thighs with White Wine Sauce
• Grilled Shawarma Chicken
• Sticky Coconut Rice with Chicken

Continue to Content Prep Time 10 minutes Cook Time 45 minutes Additional Time 6 hours Total Time 6 hours 55 minutes

Ingredients

For the brine:

• 1 quart cold water
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp Kosher salt
• 1 ¼ lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs

For the bbq sauce:

• 1 ½ cups ketchup
• ½ cup molasses
• 2 tbsp cider vinegar
• 3 tbsp honey
• 1 ½ tsp hot sauce
• ½ tsp liquid smoke
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. To make the brine: In a medium saucepan, bring the water, sugar, and salt to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 12 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let the brine cool to room temperature. Once cool, pour the brine over the chicken in a large bowl or sturdy gallon-size zipper bag; seal the bowl or bag and chill for 6 hours.
2. Meanwhile, make the BBQ sauce: Whisk the first six ingredients for the sauce in a medium bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. Chill until ready to use. You’ll have about half leftover after cooking the chicken so divide it into separate containers before you cook the chicken – I can assure you that the unused sauce will not go to waste. Store the leftover BBQ sauce in the fridge for up to 1 month.
3. After about 5 hours 45 minutes, preheat all burners of a gas grill on high with the lid down for 10 minutes, then adjust heat to medium-high.
4. While the grill is heating, remove the chicken from the bowl/bag and pat it dry with paper towels. Do not season the chicken with salt before grilling. 
5. Sear the chicken on both sides (about 2 minutes per side) then turn off 2 burners (if your grill has 3) or 1 burner (if your grill has 2). Move the chicken over the "OFF" burners and let it cook over indirect heat for 12 minutes, flipping once about halfway through the cooking time.
6. After 12 minutes, slather one side of the chicken with the bbq sauce, flip it over, slather the other side and let it cook for 2 minutes. Flip the chicken one more time and let the other side cook for 2 minutes. Remove the chicken from the grill and let rest for 5 minutes, loosely tented with foil, before serving hot.

Notes

Give yourself about 30 minutes to make the brine and to allow it to cool before adding the chicken to it. This timing is included in the "Cook Time" section above.

brine adapted from Gourmet, June 2003 | bbq sauce adapted from America’s Test Kitchen via Pink Parsley

Recommended Products

As a member of the Amazon Associate affiliate program, I earn a small percentage from your qualifying Amazon purchases when you click the Amazon links on this page. I'm not informed of who purchases what, just of what products are purchased.

• All-Clad 1-quart Stainless Steel Tri-Ply Bonded Dishwasher Safe Saucier Pan / Cookware
• Ball Pint Mason Jar, Regular Mouth, 16 oz (2 Count)
• Weber Genesis Ii E310 Lp Grill, Three-Burner Black
• Set of 2 Pastry Brushes, 1-Inch and 1 1/2-Inch Width Natural Boar Bristle Pastry Brushes, Lacquered Hardwood Basting Brushes, Cooking / Baking Brushes

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