Grilled Bourbon Chicken Dish

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

There are plenty of reasons to fire up the grill for this recipe:

• Nostalgic food court meal made at home with simple ingredients.
• Sweet and savory homemade marinade.
• Juicy, tender grilled chicken.
• Delicious caramelized edges.
• Easy to prepare ahead of time.
• Perfect for chicken breasts or thighs.
• Great for backyard BBQs and summer grilling.
• Delicious served with rice, vegetables, or potatoes.

Ingredients Needed to Make Grilled Bourbon Chicken Dish

• Chicken thighs: I recommend boneless, skinless chicken thighs because they stay juicy over the high heat of the grill and have plenty of flavor. Chicken breasts work just as well if you prefer white meat.
• Bourbon: the star of the sauce. It brings a warm savory flavors without overpowering the all the ingredients. If you don’t want to use bourbon, you can replace with apple juice.
• Brown sugar: brings sweetness to the sauce and helps create those beautiful caramelized edges as the chicken hits the hot grill.
• Soy sauce: provides the salty, savory foundation for the sauce. It also helps balance the sweetness of the brown sugar and bourbon.
• Hoisin sauce: this thick sauce prominent in Cantonese recipes adds sweet, salty, and savory flavors with a rich umami depth.
• Ketchup: good thick foundation for any sauce.
• Ginger: I recommend using ginger paste as it blends smoothly into the sauce. Ginger adds a bright citrus sweetness that helps breakup all the rich savory and sweet flavors.
• Garlic: I recommend using garlic paste as it blends smoothly into the sauce.
• Seasoning: an all purpose rub to tie everything together.

Prep the Chicken

This Grilled Bourbon Chicken recipe uses simple ingredients. Grilled over direct heat, the meal comes together within 20 minutes making it the perfect weeknight dinner option.

For this recipe, I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs. I prefer using thighs because they are more flavorful and fatty. If you prefer a leaner cut, chicken breast will work here as well.

For the chicken I used Dad’s All Purpose seasoning. It’s the perfect all around seasoning that includes salt, pepper, paprika and garlic. Let the seasoned thighs sweat while you prep the sauce.

How to Grill the Perfect Bourbon Chicken

As I mentioned before, this Grilled Bourbon Chicken dish comes together in minutes. Grilled over high direct heat, the edges of the chicken develop a beautiful sear, but the sauce thickens and caramelized the protein.

First preheat the grill to high direct heat around 400 degrees Fahrenheit. My favorite way of grilling chicken is over charcoal.

Place the seasoned chicken thighs directly on the grates and cooking for 2 minutes before flipping. Continue these steps until the internal temperature of the grilled chicken reaches 170 degrees. Yes, that’s higher than the 165 F expected of chicken, but thighs are fattier and need more time for the fat to render down. Trust me, you will not over cook the thighs.

Remove the grilled thighs from the grill and let them rest while we prep and cook the Bourbon sauce.

How to make a Bourbon sauce on the grill

This bourbon sauce is incredibly easy to make. It has the nostalgic savory and caramelized sweet flavors as the classic meal you remember from those childhood years hanging out at the mall with your friends.

In a sauce pan or cast iron skillet, add bourbon of choice, brown sugar, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, garlic and ginger paste, apple cider vinegar and ketchup. Whisk the ingredients together. One additional ingredient, which is optional, is msg. I like adding it to my Asian inspired dishes but it’s not required. It adds those umami notes that will have you coming back for more! Give everyting a good mix and cook over medium heat until it reduces by half.

Next add the corn starch slurry. This is an equal parts mix of corn starch and water. A small amount goes a long way. Tablespoon each is all you need. The slurry will help thicken the sauce.

Once the sauce is a nice medium thick consistency, chop up the grilled chicken thighs and mix it in with the sauce.

Time to Assemble the Grilled Bourbon Chicken Dish

Now that you have all the components cooked for the Grilled Bourbon Chicken Dish, it’s time to plate and serve.

The classic meal is served over some white rice, which is how I like to enjoy mine. Top with some chopped green onions and dig in.

Steamed cabbage is a great side dish usually served with this meal. Try to viral carrot salad for some crunch or cook noodles for a lo mein option instead of rice.

Which ever way you enjoy this Grilled Bourbon Chicken recipe, I know you will like it as much as I did.

Got any Leftovers?

If you have leftovers, don’t just reheat them and serve the same meal again.

Slice the chicken and use it for:

• Bourbon chicken sandwiches
• Chicken tacos
• Salads
• Quesadillas
• Wraps
• Meal prep bowls
• Loaded fries
• Chicken fried rice

Final Thoughts

This Grilled Bourbon Chicken dish takes all the flavors people love about bourbon chicken and brings them straight to the backyard grill. The combination of bourbon, brown sugar, soy sauce, garlic, and hoisin sauce creates a sauce that’s sweet, savory, and packed with flavor, while the hot grill adds those irresistible caramelized edges and smoky char.

It’s an easy recipe that works just as well for a weeknight dinner as it does for a summer BBQ. Serve it over rice with grilled vegetables, slice it into sandwiches, or make a big batch for your next backyard gathering. Enjoy!

Frequently Asked Questions:

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