BBQ Chicken Marinade

Nothing says summer grilling quite like BBQ chicken. The best, most flavorful BBQ chicken all comes down to the marinade, and I happen to think this recipe is truly something special. It's tangy, juicy, and has just the right amount of char, thanks to the sugars in the BBQ sauce. Serve with classic BBQ sides like coleslaw, corn salad, or potato salad, and you’ve got a picture-perfect summer cookout on your hands ready to please.

How To Make A BBQ Chicken Marinade

INGREDIENTS

• BBQ Sauce: You can use any BBQ sauce you please in this recipe. Need help deciding? Whether you like sweet, tangy, or spicy, checkout Delish's ranking of the best store-bought BBQ sauces.
• Oil: Use a neutral oil in this recipe, like canola or vegetable oil—stay away from olive oil. You'll use this in the marinade and on the grill.
• Garlic: 2 cloves of garlic is my perfect amount, but if you're a garlic fanatic, you can adjust to taste. Grated or finely minced will work perfectly.
• Soy Sauce: This is what adds that punch of umami to our marinade. I recommend using low-sodium to avoid your marinade becoming too salty.
• Smoked Paprika: This adds a smoky, lightly spiced flavor to the marinade. Again, adjust to taste!
• Chicken: This recipe is flexible enough to use any type of bone-in chicken. Or, to please all parties, use a whole chicken cut into parts.

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS

The key to the most flavorful BBQ chicken? It’s all in the marinade. Marinating the chicken in your BBQ sauce before grilling infuses every bite with flavor. After creating the sauce, set a bit aside and leave it in the fridge to use later. Then, add the rest of the chicken to the marinade. At least two hours will do the trick, though the longer the chicken gets cozy with the marinade, the better it will be. Plus, an overnight stint in the refrigerator doesn't just make for tastier chicken, it helps you get ahead on prep.

If you're not in the habit of cleaning your grill grates before cooking, this is the time to start. Clean, oiled grates ensure the chicken skin will get crispy rather than stick. After preheating your grill, add the chicken—skin side down—and grill, flipping and basting with the reserved BBQ sauce.

Cook until an instant-read thermometer reads 165º in the thickest part of the chicken.

Once ready to serve, baste with any remaining BBQ sauce.

The full list of ingredients and instructions can be found in the recipe below.

BBQ Marinade Variations

This marinade recipe calls for fancying up a bottle of ready-made sauce, but if you want to make your own, there are many directions to go in. You can take the classic Kansas-City style BBQ sauce or the Carolina BBQ sauce routes, or go wild with a can of soda for a Dr. Pepper BBQ sauce.