Grilled Chicken Thighs Recipe
Make perfectly Juicy Grilled Chicken Thighs using a two-zone cooking method for tender meat, crispy skin, and beautiful grill marks.
Ingredients
- 6 finely grated garlic cloves
- ½ peeled, finely minced or finely grated shallot
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons champagne vinegar
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 10 to 12 sprigs fresh thyme
- ½ cup neutral flavored oil
- 4 pounds skinless chicken thighs, about 10 pieces
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the garlic, shallot, lemon zest, lemon juice, soy sauce, vinegar, honey, mustard, paprika, thyme, oil, and salt and pepper until combined and emulsified. Taste it. It should be overly flavorful and delicious.
- Reserve about 4 to 5 tablespoons of the marinade and set it aside.
- Add the chicken to the large marinade bowl and thoroughly mix to massage the marinade into the chicken. Cover and refrigerate for 4 to 24 hours.
- When you’re ready to grill, remove the chicken from the fridge and also turn the grill on. On a 4-burner grill, I keep 2 burners on high heat and the other two on low heat. If you have a two-burner grill, set 1 burner to high and the other to low.
- Start by placing the chicken down on the hot side of the grill and cook with the grill door closed for 2 minutes. Turn the chicken 90 degrees and cook for a further 2 minutes with the grill door closed. The goal is to get grill marks on the chicken, and if you have to do this in batches, no problem. Also, be sure to control the heat; the goal is to get a little char, not to scorch them.
- Flip the chicken over and cook for 1 minute. The top side should have nice 90-degree grill marks.
- Then transfer the chicken from the same side to the lower heat on the grill. Turn the hot side down to medium.
- Close the grill door and cook for 15 minutes, or until the internal temperature reads 168 °- 170 °.
- Remove the chicken and rest for 5 to 10 minutes. While resting, drizzle on the 4 to 5 tablespoons of the marinade that was set aside.
- Garnish with optional grilled lemon halves and more fresh thyme leaves.
Notes
The biggest mistake I see people make is grilling chicken thighs over high heat the whole time. That’s why I’m all about the two-zone heat system: starting with a quick sear over direct, high heat for grill marks before moving the chicken to the low heat to finish cooking. A four-burner grill makes this easy, but if you’re using a two-burner or your grill doesn't have multiple heat settings, simply light up one side of the grill and leave the other side completely turned off.
Flare-ups are really common with chicken thighs. Just move the chicken over to the cool, indirect heat zone if this happens. Tossing a couple of ice cubes directly onto the grates is a trick I like to use to smother the flames without blowing ash all over the place.
Cook the chicken between 168ºF and 170ºF internally. These high temps break down the tough connective tissue and collagen, giving you tender and juicy meat. I use my meat thermometer to measure the internal temperature, making sure the probe is not touching the bone itself to avoid a false, artificially high reading.
Cooking boneless vs. bone-in chicken thighs: Sear boneless, skinless thighs for 2 minutes per side and cook for roughly 15 minutes on the indirect side. Give bone-in thighs the same 4-minute sear, but expect them to take 20 to 25 minutes to cook through.
Never reuse the chicken marinade: To use the marinade as a glaze or sauce, you must set some aside before adding the raw chicken. If you want to use the marinade on another meat later, double the batch and portion the extra half into a container right from the start.
Make-Ahead: The chicken is best when it’s served hot off the grill. To keep it warm a little longer, place the chicken in a covered baking dish and leave it in a 200°F oven for up to 30 minutes. The raw thighs can also be left in the marinade in the refrigerator up to 24 hours before grilling.
How to Store: Any leftover chicken can be kept covered in the fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
How to Reheat: Place the thighs on a parchment-lined sheet tray, cover with foil, and reheat in the oven at 350°F for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and continue cooking for 10 minutes or until heated through.
Nutrition
Calories: 687kcalCarbohydrates: 13gProtein: 72gFat: 37gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 10gMonounsaturated Fat: 19gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 345mgSodium: 951mgPotassium: 968mgFiber: 1gSugar: 11gVitamin A: 381IUVitamin C: 5mgCalcium: 54mgIron: 4mg