This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
It’s the week of Fourth of July. A wonderful time to remember the birth of our nation and to celebrate our independence. I love spending time with the ones I love most, enjoying delicious food — like this Grilled Chicken with Chipotle-Whiskey BBQ Sauce — drinks, and having some fun in the sun!
One of the most fun parts about celebrating the Fourth of July is the food. Barbecue, burgers, hot dogs, watermelon, potato salads, and so much more! Here is such an outstanding recipe to add to your menu that will seriously impress your family and friends. Delicious grilled chicken thighs with the *most amazing* chipotle and whiskey infused BBQ sauce. Yeah, yeah, might sound a little unique, I know but just trust me. You gotta make this one! It’s absolutely fantastic.
The chipotle adds such a nice smokey and touch of spicy flavor. But, why add the whiskey? Well, whiskey adds such a melody of flavors to and can bring out the best in so many dishes. It’s kinda like cooking with wine or beer, only a totally new experience that I encourage you to try. The spirit evaporates or “cooks off” in the process. It’s during this evaporation when the spirit’s various flavors are concentrated, bonding with your food. Here, when the whiskey cooks off a bit, it adds another touch of sweetness to the barbecue sauce– without adding additional sugar (I did add a little extra Coconut sugar to compliment the sweetness). The aroma, too. Oh my goodness, the smell is just fantastic. It will keep you coming back for more!
So give this Grilled Chicken with Chipotle-Whiskey BBQ Sauce a try! Make this fantastic sauce using a little whiskey if you’ve never cooked with it before! TX Whiskey is my personal whiskey of choice. I think you will be so impressed with yourself!
For another spirit-infused dish, try my Bourbon Braised Brisket!
Grilled Chicken with Chipotle-Whiskey BBQ Sauce
Ingredients
For the Chipotle-Whiskey BBQ Sauce:
- 2 tbsp avocado oil
- 1/2 cup white onion, very finely diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced
- 1.5 cups strained tomatoes (such as Pomi brand)
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp coconut sugar
- 1/4 cup TX Whiskey
For the Chicken:
- 3 lbs chicken thigh, bone in and skin on
- 3 tbsp avocado oil
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
Instructions
For the Chipotle Whiskey Sauce:
- Heat a saucepan over medium heat with oil. Add the onions and garlic. Sautee, stirring, until the onions are tender, about 3 minutes. Add the chipotle peppers, strained tomatoes, salt, pepper, cumin, apple cider vinegar, coconut sugar and whiskey. Stir to combine. Let simmer on low heat until sugar has dissolved and flavors are well combined, 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside while you get the chicken going.
For the Chicken:
- Preheat the half of your grill over medium high heat to 350-400 degrees F.
- Pat dry the chicken. Drizzle with avocado oil. Season both sides generously with kosher salt and pepper.
- Place chicken thighs, skin side down, on oiled grates over lit side of the grill. Grill, covered, until skin is well marked and crispy, 5 to 6 minutes. Turn thighs over, and transfer to unlit side of grill. Grill, covered, until a thermometer registers 165°F when inserted into thickest part of a chicken thigh, 20 to 25 minutes, turning halfway through grilling. Halfway through the cook time, use a brush to baste the tops of the chicken thighs with the BBQ sauce, reserving 1 cup for serving. Then, during the final two minutes of cook time, baste the tops one last time. Remove from grill, and let rest 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
- Serve with the remaining BBQ sauce and ENJOY!
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Great recipe! I’ve made it several times
Can I marinade the chicken in this sauce for 24 hours?
This was so delicious! A little bit spicy in a perfect way. I served it with a southwest chicken salad and it was the perfect dinner.
Looks delicious! Is it very spicy? I love the flavor/spice but my kids don’t…on a scale of 1-10 how spicy is this? 😁
hummm… I feel like my spice scale is above most so i don’t want to deceive you– but I’d say it’s a 6. My kids would think this is too spicy to be fair.
Looks amazing! How do you recommend cooking the chicken if you don’t have a grill? Thank you Alex for another killer recipe !
Hi! You can definitely just roast them in the oven! Will still be fantastic. (preheat oven to 400 and coat the thighs in olive oil, salt, pepper. Roast in the oven until they are cooked through and crispy on the tops, 35-45 minutes depending on how large the thighs are. And I’d baste them in the sauce about 25 minutes into the cooking time. 🙂