Grilled Honey Mustard Chicken Thighs

Grilled Honey Mustard Chicken on a plate with lemon slices.

5 from 9 votes

Grilled Honey Mustard Chicken Thighs

Grilled Chicken Thighs are made ultra juicy with my powerful tenderizing marinade ingredient. Flavourful with irresistible crispy bits.

Prep Time20

Cook Time30

Marinating time30

Total Time1 20

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Bone in chicken thighs, Dijon marinade for chicken, Grilled chicken thighs, Honey Mustard Chicken

Servings:

Author: Jennifer Pallian BSc, RD

Ingredients

For Honey Mustard Sauce

½ cup dijon mustard divided use
¼ cup honey

For Mustard Marinade

¼ cup full-fat Greek yogurt
¼ cup lemon juice
2 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp cooking oil like avocado or canola oil - don't use a low smoke-point oil like olive oil
2 ½ tsp kosher salt
1 tsp paprika
¼ tsp ground cayenne
3 lbs bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs

Instructions

Make the Honey Mustard Sauce

In a small bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup of the mustard and the honey. Set aside. (Refrigerate it if you are doing a marinade longer than a couple of hours.)

Marinate the Chicken

Whisk remaining mustard with yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, oil, salt, paprika and cayenne in a large baking dish. Add the chicken thighs and turn to coat. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and marinade chicken for 30 minutes at room temperature (or up to 24 hours in the refrigerator - the flavour gets even better if you can do this!). Either way, let the chicken stand at room temperature for 30 minutes just before cooking for best results.

Prepare the Grill

Turn burners on a gas grill on to medium heat and preheat the grill for 5-10 minutes with the lid closed. Then, carefully oil the grates using long tongs and a paper-towel dabbed in oil.

Grill the Chicken Thighs

Remove chicken from the marinade letting any excess drip off (then discard it). Grill chicken skin-side down for about 7 minutes or until the pieces lift easily from the grates without sticking or tearing.
Turn off HALF of the burners and flip the chicken pieces over and onto the unlit side. Then turn the side with *no chicken* on to high heat. (You're basically creating an oven to finish cooking the chicken without burning it).
Cover the grill and continue cooking the chicken until it reaches 165ºF internal temperature.

Brush with the Honey Mustard Sauce

Brush the chicken pieces on both sides with the reserved honey mustard sauce and continue cooking over indirect heat (unlit side) with cover closed for 5-10 minutes more, until glaze is caramelized and internal temperature reaches 175ºF.

Rest the Chicken

Let chicken rest on a plate, uncovered, for 5-10 minutes before serving for juiciest results. The cooking time will be 25-35 minutes in total (see note below).

Video

Notes

The cooking time is truly an estimate as grills vary widely in how close the food is to the gas/coals, how well heat circulates inside, how much heat is lost when you open the lid, etc.

Cook chicken dark meat (like thighs and drumsticks) to at least 175ºF because that's temperature the touch collagen has to reach to break down. Aiming for at least 175ºF will get you that that fall-apart tender texture everyone loves.

You can make this using a charcoal BBQ. Create two cooking zones by piling all of the charcoal on one half of the grill to make a direct heat zone (and indirect heat zone over the other side).

To Bake Your Honey Mustard Chicken

1. Preheat your oven to 400°F (205°C) and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

1. Remove the marinated chicken thighs from the fridge and place them on the prepared baking sheet, making sure they are not touching each other. (Pro tip: Discard any leftover marinade that has come into contact with raw chicken to avoid cross-contamination.)

1. Bake the chicken thighs in the preheated oven for about 25-30 minutes or until they reach an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C).

1. Brush the chicken pieces on both sides with the reserved honey mustard sauce and continue baking for another 5-10 minutes or until the glaze is caramelized and the internal temperature reaches 175°F (79°C).

1. Remove the chicken from the oven and let it rest on a plate, uncovered, for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Nutrition