Description
This Oven Baked BBQ Chicken recipe features tender, juicy bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, drumsticks, or wings baked to perfection with a quick homemade barbecue sauce. The sauce combines classic ingredients like ketchup, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, and mustard powder to create a tangy, sweet, and savory glaze that caramelizes beautifully under the broiler. The dish is easy to prepare, requiring minimal hands-on time, and is perfect for a comforting family meal served alongside classic Southern-style sides like mashed potatoes and coleslaw.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Sauce
- 1 cup ketchup or Australian/UK tomato sauce
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 4 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp mustard powder
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp fresh black pepper
- 1 cup water
Chicken
- 1.5 kg / 3 lb chicken thighs (bone-in, skin-on), drumsticks or wings
- Fresh parsley, chives or finely chopped green onions, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 200°C (390°F) to ensure it is hot enough for baking the chicken evenly.
- Prepare Sauce: In a ceramic or glass baking dish, combine all the sauce ingredients: ketchup, apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, mustard powder, onion powder, salt, black pepper, and water. Stir well to mix thoroughly.
- Add Chicken: Place the chicken pieces into the sauce mixture and turn them to coat evenly. Arrange the chicken skin side down in the baking dish.
- Bake First Interval: Bake the chicken in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. This allows the chicken to start cooking and the sauce to infuse flavors.
- Turn and Baste: Remove the baking dish from the oven. Turn the chicken pieces over so skin side is up, then spoon the sauce over the chicken to coat it generously.
- Bake Second Interval: Return the dish to the oven and bake for an additional 30 minutes so the chicken cooks through and the sauce thickens.
- Skim Fat (Optional): Carefully tilt the pan and spoon off or drain any excess fat that has collected in the dish for a leaner finish.
- Broil to Caramelize: Switch your oven to the broil/grill setting on high. Spoon sauce again over the chicken generously, then place the dish under the broiler for 2 to 3 minutes. Watch closely to caramelize the chicken skin and thicken the sauce further without burning.
- Garnish and Serve: Remove from the oven and garnish with fresh parsley, chives, or chopped green onions as desired. Serve hot with your preferred classic BBQ sides.
Notes
- Sauce substitutions: Use Australian or UK tomato sauce instead of American ketchup if preferred. Apple cider vinegar can be swapped with white wine, sherry, champagne vinegar, or 2 tbsp normal white vinegar. Onion powder can be substituted with garlic powder or 1 finely minced garlic clove.
- Chicken choice: Best results achieved with bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, drumsticks, or wings for juiciness and flavor. Boneless breasts or thighs can be used but require adjustments in sauce concentration and baking times.
- Cleaning tip: Use a glass or ceramic baking dish for the sauce; foil and parchment-lined metal pans can work but may require scrubbing.
- Sauce thickness: The thickness of the barbecue sauce after baking depends on the pan snugness, chicken juiciness, and oven accuracy. Adjust thickness by adding water if too thick or return pan to oven briefly for thickening if too thin.
- Recipe adaptation: The sauce recipe is adapted from the Neely’s barbecue sauce from Food Network.
- Nutritional info: Nutrition is per serving assuming 3 tbsp excess fat is removed and all sauce is eaten.
