Maple Mustard BBQ Chicken Thighs

I love barbecued chicken. I love chicken thighs. Therefore it follows that I love barbecued chicken thighs, right? Well, obviously I do because there are already a few different barbecued chicken thigh recipes on this site.

This one is different.

I mean it’s not a lot different. It’s still chicken thighs. It’s still barbequed, but it’s not your average red sticky sauce barbecue. It’s a mustard based sauce. But it’s also not the “Carolina Gold” sort of sweet vinegar mustard sauce you may have had slathered on ribs or chicken wings. It’s a little different because the base is a combination of yellow mustard, mayonnaise, and maple syrup, and because the meat is rubbed with a slightly spicy turmeric based rub before grilling.

That sort of amps up some of the flavor, and really amps up the … well, the yellow. These things are yellow. Really really yellow. That’s balanced by the char you get from a good indirect grilling (I strongly recommend charcoal) and I also recommend some tangy sides like homemade refrigerator pickles or pretty much any kind of slaw.

Maple Mustard BBQ Chicken Thighs

Recipe by DrewCourse: Bone-In, Grilled

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

20

minutes

Grilled thighs with a sweet, tangy mustard sauce.

Ingredients

• 4 bone in, skin on chicken thighs

• Rub

• 1 tsp ground turmeric

• 1 tsp garlic powder

• 1 tsp light brown sugar

• 1 tsp kosher salt

• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper

• Sauce

• 4 tbsp prepared yellow mustard

• 4 tbsp dark amber maple syrup

• 2 tbsp mayonnaise

• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

• 1 tsp cider vinegar

• 6 drops liquid smoke (opt)

Directions

• Sauce
• Combine all ingredients.
• Transfer to a covered container and refrigerate 1 hour to allow flavors to combine.
• Rub
• Combine all ingredients in the container of a spice grinder.
• Process until a fine, even powder forms.
• Chicken
• Generously sprinkle both sides of the chicken with the rub.
• Refrigerate, uncovered, for 1 hour.
• Grill or broil over medium high heat, turning occasionally, until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 155°F (about 10 minutes per side) .
• Brush sauce onto thighs, and cook until the sauce is lightly caramelized and the internal temperature of the chicken has reached 165°F.