Double Barbecue Chicken. Using both a barbecue dry rub to infuse flavour and an easy sweet and sticky homemade BBQ sauce to finish, doubles the great flavour in this amazing summer chicken recipe.
Originally published June 2013. Updated August 2024.
So what’s double barbecue chicken? In recent years since experiencing more southern barbecue, I have come to enjoy dry rubbed barbecued meats of all kinds including chicken.
In general, I like to dry rub my favorite spice rubs onto the meat the night before and let the rub permeate the flesh long before it ever hits the heat.
Now don’t get me wrong, I still love my barbecue sauces! There’s nothing better than licking a sweet sticky barbecue sauce or honey barbecue glaze from your fingers in a messy carnivorous feast but I have come to appreciate dry barbecue as well.
In this recipe I don’t have to choose! I both dry rub the chicken the day before and slowly build up glazed layers of sticky barbecue sauce toward the end of the cooking time.
Double barbecue, double flavour!
The result here is phenomenally flavourful, especially when slowly cooked over indirect heat on a charcoal barbecue.
I just love it and I hazard to say you will not eat a better barbecued chicken this summer; certainly not a more intensely flavored one.
I like to use my recipe fro Brown Sugar Balsamic BBQ Sauce (recipe below) but I also like my Bourbon Barbecue Sauce that I normally use on ribs. Get that recipe by clicking here.
We have more side dish inspiration including everything from baked beans & corn bread to deliciously different potato and pasta salads. Be sure to check them all out in our collection of 26 Best BBQ Side Dishes too.
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Double Barbecue Chicken
Double Barbecue Chicken. Using both a barbecue dry rub to infuse flavour and an easy sweet and sticky homemade BBQ sauce to finish, doubles the great flavour in this amazing summer chicken recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken cut in 8-9 pieces
For the Chicken Dry Rub:
- 3 tbsp paprika
- 2 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 3 tbsp kosher salt
- 1 tbsp powdered ginger
- 1 tbsp chipotle powder
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp ground thyme
- 2 tbsp ground sage or poultry seasoning
- 2 tbsp dry mustard powder
- 2 tbsp garlic powder
- 3 tbsp onion powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp crushed or ground fennel seed
For the Brown Sugar & Balsamic Barbecue Sauce:
- 1 large red onion diced
- 6 cloves minced garlic
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large apple thinly sliced
- 8 large very ripe diced tomatoes, with the skins removed (or a 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes)
- 1¼ cups brown sugar
- ½ cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon ground thyme
- 1 tsp crushed chili paste (or ½ tsp cayenne pepper, more or less to taste of either if you want to better control the heat)
- 2 tbsp smoked paprika
- 2 tbsp chili powder
- ½ whole nutmeg , finely grated
- 2 tbsp fresh finely grated ginger
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Mix together all the ingredients in the dry rub well and store any unused dry rub in an airtight container in a cool place or in the freezer.
Begin by rubbing some of the chicken dry rub all over the outside of all your chicken pieces. Cover and store in fridge. The longer you leave the rub on the chicken the better. As little as a couple of hours is good but overnight is best for the flavor of the spices to permeate the meat.
If you are using your gas grill to barbecue, place the chicken pieces on one side of the grill and use the burner or burners on the opposite side so that it is not directly over heat. Regulate the gas to keep the temperature at about 300 - 325 degrees F for slow barbecued flavor. The same technique can also be used with a charcoal grill, just keep the charcoal on one side and the chicken pieces on the opposite side.
{Smoking instructions (optional) If you like, you can add smoke flavor by soaking hardwood chips like mesquite, apple, cherry or hickory in warm water for about a half hour. A couple of handfuls will do. Wrap the soaked wood chips in a double layer of heavy duty aluminum foil and poke only two holes in the foil, one at either end to allow the smoke to escape. I place the foil packets in a vegetable grill pan so that the packet is not sitting directly on the gas burner. The packet can be directly placed on the coals if you are using a charcoal barbecue.}
Cook the chicken until the internal temperature reaches about 150 -160 degrees F on a meat thermometer, then begin to brush the barbecue sauce on the chicken, turning it several times, every few minutes. I like to use my recipe for I like to get at least 3 or 4 layers of barbecue sauce on the chicken. When the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 170 degrees F it is done.
To Prepare the Brown Sugar and Balsamic BBQ Sauce:
Saute the onion, garlic, apples and olive oil all together in a medium sized saucepan until the onions and apples have softened.
Add the tomatoes. Saute together until the tomatoes begin break down and get mushy (or until the sauce is reduced by ¼ if using canned tomatoes), then add all of the remaining ingredients for the sauce.
Simmer all together over low heat for about a half hour or until the sauce reaches the consistency of a good barbecue sauce. I like mine a little thicker than most because it is easier to brush on whatever is being grilled.
Puree the sauce after it cools down,to make it extra smooth if you prefer. I always do.
Store in airtight container in the fridge if you are using it within a week or so or freeze it in airtight containers. Properly preserving it in mason jars will make it last all summer.
Sally
Sunday 5th of July 2020
Made this last night. Fantastic. Will be using the bbq sauce on a smoked brisket today. Thanks Barry!
Leah
Friday 3rd of July 2020
Looking forward to your cookbook on grilling and your favorite sides to grilled recipes! *hint* *hint* It will look wonderful next to the 4 cookbooks of yours that I just bought...and tagged to make my first 20 recipes! Looking forward... :-)
Stephanie
Saturday 30th of July 2016
Looking forward to trying out this rub on some chicken this weekend! Love your pictures.
Barry C. Parsons
Friday 19th of August 2016
We use that rub on everything !!