Maple and Chipotle Broiler-Barbecued Chicken Thighs

Maple and Chipotle Barbecued Chicken Thighs

Serves 4

To learn more, read:
The Upside-Down Grill
by Laraine Perri
from Fine Cooking
Issue 121
Last Edit Date: 12/26/2012 3:30:14 PM

When it's too cold to grill outside, you can mimic the flavor of barbecued chicken with your oven broiler. Between the smoky spice rub and the sweet-hot barbecue sauce, you'll never miss the grill.

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For the sauce

1/2 cup ketchup
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
2 Tbs. mild unsulfured molasses
2 Tbs. cider vinegar
1 Tbs. minced chipotle chiles (from a can of chipotles in adobo)
1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder

For the chicken

1 Tbs. sweet smoked paprika
1 Tbs. packed dark brown sugar
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. chipotle powder
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 large bone-in chicken thighs (about 3 lb.), skinned
Vegetable oil, for brushing

Tip:

Chicken skin tends to cause flare-ups in the broiler, so be sure to remove it.

Make the sauce

In a 1- to 2-quart saucepan, whisk together the ketchup, maple syrup, molasses, vinegar, chipotles, Worcestershire sauce, dry mustard, onion powder, and garlic powder. Bring to a boil over medium heat, reduce the heat to low, and simmer gently for 15 minutes to meld the flavors. Set aside.

Make the chicken

In a small bowl, combine the paprika, sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, chipotle powder, 1-1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Arrange the chicken on a platter or baking sheet, sprinkle both sides with the spice rub, and pat gently. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours.

Position a rack about 4 inches from the broiler and heat the broiler on high. Line the top rack of a broiler pan with foil and slit or puncture the foil at the openings to allow fat to drain.

Brush both sides of the chicken with oil and arrange skin side down on the pan. Broil for 5 minutes. Flip the chicken with tongs (rearranging them if the broiler heat isn’t even) and broil until they’re barely pink inside when cut into, 4 to 5 minutes. Brush the chicken with some of the sauce and broil until the sauce begins to caramelize, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip and brush the chicken with more sauce; broil until they’re just cooked through (165°F), and the sauce is nicely caramelized, 1 to 2 minutes more. Transfer the chicken to a clean platter and let rest 10 minutes before serving.

Make Ahead Tips

The sauce can be made up to 1 day ahead and refrigerated.

nutrition information (per serving):
Calories (kcal): 540; Fat (g): 20; Fat Calories (kcal): 180; Saturated Fat (g): 5; Protein (g): 48; Monounsaturated Fat (g): 8; Carbohydrates (g): 41; Polyunsaturated Fat (g): 5; Sodium (mg): 1030; Cholesterol (mg): 265; Fiber (g): 1;

Photo: Scott Phillips

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by winstonk, 3/17/2013Excellent, made the sauce and great flavors all around. Will do this again.

by AllanceElla, 3/4/2013It looks delicious and easy to have a try:). Meat Processing Machine http://www.foodmachinesale.com/product/Meat_Processing_Machine/index.html

by AnnieSue, 3/3/2013Made this last night with a few alterations. I thought I had chipotles but didn't so just added some chipotle powder to the sauce. I like a nice thick sauce so simmered quite a bit longer than the 15 minutes called for in the recipe. It was delicious. I'd definitely make the sauce again to use on other things. I only had hot smoked paprika so used that instead of mild in the spice blend. It was a beautiful evening so cooked the chicken on the bbq instead of under the broiler. I only wish I had made more so we could have leftovers today. I don't think the changes I made affected the recipe drastically - I will certainly be making this again as well as sharing this recipe with friends.

by KrsitiA, 2/9/2013I've made it twice. Both the sauce and chicken are great! My chicken took longer than 5 minutes per side, too. I left the skin on, so I didn't want to broil it any longer, so after the 5 mniutes per side, I turned the broiler off and set the temperature to 375 and finished baking the chicken until my intant read thermometer reached the safe temperature.

by adri367, 1/29/2013This was fantastic! We live in a condo without access to a bbq and this made me feel like I was at a cookout. It was easy to prep and cook. I was worried about using the broiler with such a sugary sauce, but there was no smoke and no burning. I found the cooking directions to be perfect. I would use this sauce/rub on many other meats, it's a delicious and versatile sauce.

by kimberlyb, 1/9/2013I made it for supper last night and my kids loved it! No leftovers! I used boneless chicken thighs instead of bone in with skin. I also did not use chipotle powder for the rub since I was not able to find it in the grocery store! The sauce was amazing!

by Pielove, 1/8/2013This makes for an extremely easy, fast weeknight dinner and got two thumbs up from adults and kid alike. The barbecue sauce is delicious enough that we were licking the pan-- although I did use chili powder instead of chipotle in deference to my spice-adverse daughter. My chicken took a lot longer than 5 minutes on a side to cook through-- since the sizes of chicken parts vary so much, I recommend adjusting the timing as needed.