Perfect Grilled Chicken Thighs are so juicy, moist, and tender! These flavor packed chicken thighs are so easy to grill and have the best simple marinade!
Grilled Chicken Thighs:
We are dead in the heat of summer, and we’ve been firing up the grill every single night! I don’t mind things like burgers and hot dogs, but nothing beats a piece of fall off the bone chicken! We do chicken quite a bit around here and I know most of you have already tried and love my Crispy Baked Chicken Thighs and my Lemon Pepper Chicken Thighs too! When it came to the perfect grilled chicken thigh recipe, I knew I wanted to keep it simple just like those. I want a nice crispy grilled skin, and very tender and flavorful chicken with the easiest marinade. For this simple recipe, we will be giving you directions on how to grill chicken thighs on a gas, or charcoal grill!
How to Grill Chicken Thighs:
To start, grab a medium sized bowl and whisk together your marinade. This consists of olive oil, lemon juice, lime juice, garlic, onion powder, salt, pepper, mustard, soy sauce, dijon mustard, and brown sugar. Pantry staples! Trim any fat from your chicken thighs if necessary, and place in a large bowl or a large zip-top plastic bag. Pour the marinade over the chicken.
This recipe calls for 2-2.5 pounds of chicken thighs, or about 8 total. As you can see from the photos, you will want to use bone-in and skin on chicken thighs for best results with this recipe. After you have poured your marinade over the chicken, seal the bag, getting out as much air as you can. Now, massage the meat inside the bag to make sure all of the chicken is well coated. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, and up to 12 hours. For best flavor, I prefer marinating for at least 2 hours, but a shorter time will work in a pinch. Once the chicken has marinated, allow it to sit, covered in the bag at room temperature for 15-20 minutes while your grill heats up. Grill the chicken as directed in the recipe card below for charcoal or gas!
Enjoy!
~Nichole
Perfect Grilled Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- 1/4 Cup Olive Oil
- Juice of 1 Lemon
- Juice of 1 Lime
- 2 teaspoons Garlic Powder
- 2 teaspoons Onion Powder
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
- 2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
- 1/3 Cup Packed Brown Sugar
- 2 Pounds Bone in Skin on Chicken Thighs about 8 total
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, lime juice, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, mustard, soy sauce, and brown sugar.
- Trim fat from the chicken as necessary. Add the chicken thighs to a large zip-top bag and pour in the marinade. Seal the bag and massage the marinade into the meat for a few seconds to make sure the meat is coated.
- Refrigerate the chicken in the marinade for at least 30 min. For best flavor, allow the meat to marinate for 2-12 hours before grilling. After marinating, allow the chicken to sit, covered in the bag of marinade for 15-20 minutes while the grill preheats.
- Preheat the grill to settings for medium-high heat on one side, or if using charcoal, arrange pieces into a two-zone fire with briquettes underneath half of the grill grate.
- Sear chicken thighs over lit side of grill 2-3 minutes per side until skin turns golden brown, taking care not to char.
- Move chicken pieces to unlit side of grill and cook, covered, until internal temperature reaches 165°F.
- Let chicken rest 5-10 minutes before serving.
I love this recipe for Perfect Grilled Chicken Thighs. We had them for dinner tonight and loved them. This is the best marinade for grilling chicken that I have ever come across. Easy to put together and great for grilling.
Excellent recipe!. Marinade is very quick to make. I used skinless, boneless thighs. I was only able to marinade them for about 1 hour. But the result is still excellent, very moist, flavorful. I actually like a little char on grilled meat and the sugar will help get that.
Can you cook them in the oven?
Sure. You could even roast them at high heat on a baking sheet — like 425 degrees for about 25+ minutes, depending on size. I do lots of chicken that way and as long as the marinade has enough oil in it (I think this one does) it’ll work great!! Can cook veges along with it too — potato chunks, carrots, etc. coated with oil first.
Is it best to still sear them first on the stove for crispiness? Or just use the oven only?
Absolutely the BEST marinade ….and I have tried many! I marinated boneless skinless chicken thighs for 8’ish hours and reserved some marinade for shrimp which I let soak for about 30 minutes. Hands down the best grilling I have done for a very long time. Delicious!
Delicious! I did reduce the brown sugar to less than 1/4 cup and it was still amazing.
I saw someone ask if they could use something other than brown sugar and I’m sure any sweetener like honey, rice syrup, etc would work, or even orange juice would complement the other ingredients.
Can you substitute something for the brown sugar, or alter the amount
I’m subbing honey next time
Unbelievable, so tasty. My wife ,who only eats Brest meat, had seconds.
Absolutely delicious grilled thighs. Crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. Terrific and easy recipe, has become our “go to” for quick and delicious chicken.
Excellent flavor and moisture. No need to add anything else
Excellent. The meat was juicy and well seasoned. Made the marinade as written. Grilled the chicken over direct heat on a gas grill for the whole time, turning every 5 minutes. The skin had a beautiful char. Basted with homemade BBQ sauce for the last 5 minutes.