Only the tastiest BBQ makes you want to lick your fingers clean while eating it and these are some finger-licking-delicious BBQ chicken skewers. These grilled BBQ chicken skewers are made with chicken thigh meat for juicy and tender bite, marinated in an easy BBQ sauce, and grilled with a little more sauce on top.
BBQ CHICKEN SKEWERS
You can never go wrong with a simple grilled BBQ chicken for dinner.
When we get in a mood to grill something for dinner, it’s always the last minute decision. We have coals on hand most of the time so grilling our dinner can be a fast and easy. I have a few recipes for fast and easy grilling locked and loaded, just like these BBQ chicken skewers.
I was hanging out with the kiddos on Sunday afternoon and a grilling bug bit me. Fortunately, the grilling bug doesn’t leave a mark like other bugs do. Unfortunately, my back yard is full of those annoying mosquitoes that do leave a mark and they looooove my blood. The seconds I step outside, I have to fight them off.
That’s another reason I love to grill. They don’t get anywhere near out backyard when we’re grilling. Must be something about the smoke and the scent that drives them away. It makes me love the smoke and the scent of grill that much more thought!
While I was getting to coals started, I must have smacked myself ten times but by the time coals were lit…no more mosquitoes. Yay!
Depending on the amount of coals, it usually takes me about 20 minutes to get the coals ready and warm up the grill. Which is a good amount of time to let my BBQ chicken marinade before I throw it on the grill. Of course, it can be marinated for a much longer time and overnight, but 20 minutes is enough for a quick marinade.
Once my coals are ready, I can be enjoying my chicken within another 20 minutes.
TIPS FOR GRILLING CHICKEN SKEWERS:
When I am making chicken skewers/kebabs on the grill, I prefer to use chicken thigh meat. Thigh meat is dark meat and it so much more juicy and flavorful than the breast meat. It also tends to “soak” up the flavors of the sauce better.
If using bamboo or other wood skewers, remember to soak the skewers in water for 20-30 minutes first. An easy way to soak the skewers is to fill a small rimmed cookie sheet with some water and place skewers in it.
When preparing the chicken, try to cut chicken meat into equal pieces. Equal sized chicken pieces will ensure even cooking.
Don’t pack the chicken pieces too tight when adding them to the skewers. If you pack them too tight, the middle may not cook through. So place them close, where they are touching but not tightly packed against each other.
Save the remaining marinade that was in the bag and bring it to simmer either on the stove-top of in a metal bowl on the grill. Make sure to actually bring the marinade to simmer and let it cook for a couple of minutes since raw meat was marinated in it. You can use this leftover sauce for dipping or brushing the cooked chicken.
Turn chicken skewers a quarter of the way around every 4-5 minutes to let each side cook evenly.
MORE RECIPES TO TRY:
Sweet Garlic Grilled Chicken Drumsticks
Lemon Pepper Grilled Chicken Wings
Honey Ginger Cedar Plank Salmon
If you made any of my recipes and shared them on Instagram, make sure to tag me @willcookforsmiles and #willcookforsmiles so I can see all the things you tried!
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Spicy BBQ Chicken Skewers
Delicious BBQ Chicken skewers made with chicken thigh meat slathered in an easy, homemade BBQ sauce and cooked on the grill.
Ingredients
BBQ Sauce:
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup water
- 3 Tbsp honey
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (more or less according to your own tolerance of spice)
Chicken Skewers:
- 4 lbs chicken thigh meat boneless and skinless
- 6 skewers
Instructions
If using wood skewers, make sure to soak them in water before using.
Combine all ingredients for BBQ sauce in a bowl and whisk well.
Cut excess fat off chicken thigh meat and cut chicken thighs into 3 or 4 equal pieces.
Place chicken in a gallon zip-lock bag and add BBQ sauce to it. Close the bag and gently shake it to make sure all the chicken pieces are evenly coated in BBQ sauce. Let chicken marinade while preparing coals.
Prepare coals and preheat the grill. Make sure the rack is clean.
Skewer chicken pieces onto the skewers, dividing chicken equally among the 6 skewers. You will be able to get 6-7 pieces of chicken per skewer.
Save remaining marinade and place it into a small metal cooking dish. Cook it along side of the chicken. (You can also cook the BBQ sauce on the stove-top if you wish.) Just make sure to bring it to simmer and cook for a couple of minutes. You may not see it simmer on the grill so use a thermometer to bring it to a temperature of 165 degrees.
Turn chicken skewers a quarter of the way around every 4-5 minutes while cooking. (Depending on the size of your chicken pieces, it may take a little more or a little less time to cook though.)
Recipe Notes
All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe. Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have a slight variation.
Cookware
Try marinating your meats before barbecuing, and remember, the longer the better, overnight if you can. If you do the flavors of your cooking will be greatly enhanced and your friends will marvel.
Kit
Lyuba,
Looks wonderful….will be trying it this weekend!! One question….will the chicken burn quicker since they have marinated in the barbecue sauce?
Thanks so much,
Kit
LyubaB
Hi, Kit! No, just make sure to set the coals on the lowest level, furthest from the grilling grates. That way the chicken isn’t directly over the coals. I hope you enjoy it!