Grilled Cherry Bourbon Chicken Recipe (2024)

This mouthwatering Grilled Cherry Bourbon Chicken will become one of your family’s favorites as it’s quick (30 minutes) and easy to make with homemade sauce dripping from each bite.

Last week, we wrote about making the finger licking good Cherry Bourbon BBQ Sauce and this week we want to show you how to use it to make this chicken on the grill. If you didn’t already read it or made this super simple recipe, jump over there and make it fast before the cherries of the season run out. Just kidding! If it isn’t cherry season, grab some frozen ones and they will work out perfectly.

🍽️ Why This Recipe Works

Thick Sauce: When you brush it on the chicken, it sticks! It stays right where you want it. This is one reason I love this sauce. Just brush on once and be happy or apply twice for an extra level of yumminess! If you brush on more than once, you get a better chance of it being nice and sticky, which we love.

Versatile: We choose to use a skin on, bone in chicken thigh for this recipe. The skin gets incredibly crispy (always allow your grill to heat up to full temperature to maximize that crispiness) and the sauce just works perfectly with it. Alternatively, you can use boneless, skinless thighs or boneless chicken breasts and save some calories!

Make Ahead: Make the sauce a day or two early so you just have to grill the chicken for your cookout. This will make this one go so fast with the added bonus of a delicious homemade bbq sauce.

🍽️ Ingredients

Cherry Bourbon BBQ Sauce – We make that here and show you how quick and easy it is. Don’t stick to jarred sauces when making your own is a snap.

Chicken – We chose bone in, skin on chicken thighs this time but this recipe works great for a basket of wings or leg quarters.

🔥 Instructions

Step One: Set up the grill for direct heat and bring the temperature to 375 degrees. I use the Big Green Egg with the GrillGrate accessory and love the way it cooks.

Step Two: Lightly oil the chicken before placing it on the grill. This helps to avoid sticking.

Step Three: Cook both sides of the chicken for about eight minutes each and then brush on the Cherry Bourbon BBQ sauce. Flip the chicken over and brush the sauce on the other side.

Step Four: Cook each side for another two minutes to caramelize the sauce and serve.

📌 Expert Tips

Cook these indoors as well if you don’t feel like firing up the grill.

1. Cook these in the oven at 400 on a sheet pan covered with foil and sprayed with non stick spray for 20-30 minutes, depending upon the size and type of chicken you choose. During the last 5-10 minutes, glaze the sauce over the chicken and cook the remaining time. You don’t want to apply the sauce too early as it may slide off and end up in a puddle in the pan. Don’t ask how I know that.
2. The other idea is to cube up chicken into one inch bites and sauté them in a little bit of olive oil on the stove top at medium high heat. This will just take about four minutes on each side but always double check your chicken to make sure they are fully cooked. Then, apply the sauce to the cooked chicken for the last two minutes and serve. Delish!

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