Barbecue Chicken Recipe: Smokey, Spicy, Sweet ‘Legs of Fire’ Indeed
This barbecue chicken recipe will make you wonder why you ever bought a bottle of store-bought bbq sauce. It's that good.
This has to be the best barbecue chicken recipe in the world, as it contains elements from every part of the Tex-Mex cuisine food circle: it’s crispy, hot, sweet, fun, and sticky. You can also use wings and thighs for this recipe. Probably breast too, but seriously, who would want that?
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The Barbecue Chicken Recipe Worth Firing up the Grill For
Why this sauce hits different
Most barbecue sauces are sweet and stop there. This one isn’t. The secret is the balsamic vinegar — it brings an acidic depth that cuts through the brown sugar’s sweetness, while the soy sauce adds that savory, umami backbone that makes the whole thing taste like it’s been simmering since yesterday. Worcestershire ties it together with a little mystery (nobody fully agrees on what’s in it, and that’s fine). The result is a glaze that’s complex enough to taste like it came from a competition pit, and easy enough to make in twenty minutes on a Tuesday. Just don’t tell anyone.
Legs, thighs, wings — not breasts (we said what we said)
Chicken legs and thighs are built for this recipe. They’ve got enough fat to stay juicy under a screaming-hot grill, and the skin crisps up beautifully against a sticky glaze without drying out. Wings are the chaotic-good option — more surface area means more caramelization, more sauce in every bite, and zero pretense of being a sit-down meal. Breasts? Technically possible. Practically, they’ll go dry before the sauce gets a chance to do its thing. Save them for something that deserves them (like these chicken and veg kabobs with chimichurri). This isn’t it.
How to actually get that crispy skin
“Crispy enough to make the neighbors complain” is the goal — here’s how to get there.
First, dry your chicken thoroughly before rubbing. Pat it down, don’t just shake it off. Moisture is the enemy of crunch.
Second, don’t rush the direct heat phase — let the skin render and color before you even think about the sauce. Once you add it, you’re caramelizing, not cooking, so the hard work should already be done.
Third, resist the urge to move the chicken around constantly. Let it sit, let it stick slightly, let it release on its own terms. That little bit of char where the sauce catches? That’s the whole point.
What to Serve with This BBQ Chicken Recipe
This delectably saucy bbq chicken recipe goes great with veggies, here’s how to grill vegetables to perfection. (And here’s how to make sure you’re getting humane meat for grilling.) We also like this with this surprising updated easy potato salad recipe with feta, artichokes and olive relish — the bite of salt cuts through the richness of this easy barbecue chicken recipe.
This recipe is incredibly sticky and saucy (just how we like it), for easier cleanup and superior heat control (up to 1200°!) we love using this carbon steel half griddle half grill by Made In.
Legs of Fire Easy Barbecue Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
Chicken
Barbecue Sauce Ingredients
Barbecue Chicken Recipe Preparation
Chicken Cooking Instructions:
Outdoor barbecue:
Rub the chicken with the oil and the other dry spices (from paprika down), and fry over direct heat until the juices are running clear.
Drizzle the barbecue sauce over the chicken and finish off on the barbecue until the skin is so crispy that the neighbors complain.
Oven:
Preheat the oven to 350˚F/175˚C. Rub the chicken with the oil and the other dry spices and roast in the oven for 30 minutes. Drizzle the barbecue sauce all over and turn up the oven to 500˚F until everything is nice and crispy.
Barbecue Sauce Preparation:
Sautee the onion, garlic, and cumin in oil. Once the onion softens, deglaze the pan with balsamic vinegar. Add all other ingredients, boil until it becomes a yummy sticky, stirring frequently.
Reprinted with permission from “Tex-Mex from Scratch,” published in 2015 by Sterling Epicure, an imprint of Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. © Jonas Cramby. Photography by Poland Persson
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