Sticky Grilled Chicken with Savory-Sweet Marinade Recipe
Sticky Grilled Chicken is a flavorful and irresistibly sticky grilled chicken recipe featuring a savory and sweet marinade. Perfectly caramelized boneless chicken thighs are marinated overnight and grilled to juicy perfection, making it a guaranteed crowd-pleaser for both kids and adults. The marinade combines ketchup, brown sugar, soy sauce, and other complementary ingredients to create a finger-licking country-style rub that’s easy to prepare and full of depth.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 1 day 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 - 5 servings
- Category: Mains
- Method: Grilling
- Cuisine: Western
Ingredients
Chicken
- 700g / 1.4lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
Marinade / Glaze
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup all purpose or light soy sauce (NOT dark soy sauce)
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
Instructions
- Prepare the Marinade: In a large bowl, mix together ketchup, brown sugar, soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, and minced garlic until well combined.
- Marinate the Chicken: Reserve 1/2 cup of the marinade to use later as a glaze. Add the chicken thighs to the remaining marinade, turning them to coat thoroughly. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for a minimum of 3 hours, ideally overnight, up to 48 hours.
- Preheat the Grill: Brush the barbecue grill grates with vegetable or canola oil to prevent sticking and preheat to medium heat.
- Grill the Chicken – First Side: Remove the chicken from the marinade allowing excess to drip off. Place the chicken thighs on the grill and cook for about 4 minutes until nicely caramelized.
- Grill the Chicken – Second Side and Glaze: Turn the chicken over, brush generously with the reserved glaze, and cook for another 4 minutes.
- Baste and Flip Repeatedly: Flip the chicken again, brush with more glaze, flip once more, and brush with glaze to build up the sticky coating for a few additional minutes.
- Rest the Chicken: Remove the chicken from the grill onto a plate, cover loosely with foil, and let it rest for 3 minutes to allow juices to redistribute before serving.
- Serving Suggestion: Sprinkle with fresh parsley if desired and serve with sides such as macaroni salad.
- Alternate Cooking Methods: For stovetop cooking, heat a non-stick pan over medium-high heat with 1 tbsp oil and cook chicken in batches following the same timing and basting process. For oven cooking, refer to the linked Sticky Baked Chicken recipe.
Notes
- Chicken: Boneless thigh is preferred as it caramelizes perfectly within the cooking time. Bone-in pieces require longer cooking which can darken the marinade. Chicken breast can also be used; pound to even thickness and grill about 3 minutes per side, finishing with generous basting.
- Marinade / Glaze Variations: Substitute ketchup with tomato sauce, BBQ sauce or similar; substitute brown sugar with white sugar, honey, or maple syrup; use light or all purpose soy sauce (avoid dark); vinegar can be replaced with white, wine, rice or champagne vinegar. Worcestershire sauce can be replaced but add a pinch of black pepper. Add herbs, hot sauce, spices like paprika, cayenne, cumin or coriander for variation.
- Nutrition Estimates: Assumes half the marinade is discarded after marinating.