Ingredients
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6 large bone-in Chicken Thighs
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75g Zach's Original Style Bar-B-Que Brisket Rub
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6 tbsp Smokin' Yankee's Apple and Whiskey BBQ Sauce
Directions
These BBQ Chicken Thighs are a great example of what is happening in BBQ at the minute. We’ve teamed a classic American BBQ Rub with a new and upcoming local BBQ sauce. Classic, championship level BBQ with local artisanal ingredients.
Zach’s Original Style Bar-B-Que Brisket Rub
Zach’s Brisket Rub is an award-winning rub and has won several championships over the last 40 years. Unfortunately, I’m not aware of anywhere that stocks it in the UK or Ireland, let alone little old NI. We managed to get our hands on a sample from the Twitter account, RubClubUK. The account seeks to share rubs and sauces between followers through frequent competitions. They only ask that you share photos and your thoughts on the prizes. Seems like a pretty good deal to us!
Zach’s Rub is, I guess, a brisket rub but it does mention chicken on the packet, so we thought we would try that. We’d been planning a BBQ Chicken Thighs recipe for a while. I selected a packet of 6 large free-range chicken thighs from the butcher’s and rubbed the mix in deeply. We wrapped the chicken in foil and let it sit for around 2 hours.
Smokin’ Yankees Apple and Whiskey BBQ Sauce
Regular readers will know that we have used this sauce before. We’ve used it in coleslaw, with pork chops and it’s appeared in several Instagram posts. If you weren’t sure, we’re big fans. This sticky sauce packs big flavour without being too sweet. We thought it would make a great glaze to finish off this US/Irish BBQ fusion.
The BBQ
You’ll need a BBQ with a lid. Set it up for both direct and indirect cooking. You’ll need enough coals going to last a good hour of cooking. Place the Zach’s Spice-rubbed chicken skin-side down on the hot part of the BBQ and cook for 5 minutes on each side until charred and crispy. Be prepared for flare ups, don’t let the BBQ Chicken Thighs burn already.
When the skin is nicely charred and the rub is forming a nice bark, move to the indirect heat section of the BBQ and close the lid. Cook the BBQ Chicken Thighs like this for around 35-45 minutes turning frequently. Double glaze at the end with the Belfast BBQ Sauce to create that nice sticky coating.
Steps
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1
Done
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Liberally coat the chicken thighs with the rub and press it in so that it sticks. Wrap it and leave to sit for at least an hour. Use this time to set up your BBQ for direct and indirect cooking. |
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2
Done
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BBQ the the Chicken Thighs skin-side down on the hot part of the BBQ. Crisp up the skin and then flip over and cook the other side. Beware of flare ups caused by fat dripping from the juicy chicken. Cook for around 5 minutes each side. |
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3
Done
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Move to the cooler part of the BBQ and close the lid. Cook on the indirect heat for around 35-45 minutes or until cooked through. If you don't have a meat thermometer (I don't yet) cut one of the thicker ones to the bone and check it's white. |
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4
Done
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Pour a dollop of BBQ sauce onto each thigh and brush it over. Crisp up on the hot part of the grill for a minute or two. Flip and repeat on both sides. I glazed these twice to get a really sticky finished BBQ Chicken Thigh. |
