Sweet and Spicy Beer Barbecue Chicken

Beer barbecue chicken with sweetness and spicy flavor. Juicy, tender chicken beautifully coated with a rich, moist sauce. Perfect juicy grilled chicken.

This Sweet and Spicy Beer Barbecue Chicken recipe is a wonderful way to enjoy grilling season. Beer is popular with barbecues, especially during the holiday. What if you could enjoy your drink and flavor your food with it at the same time, well now you can. There are cookbooks based entirely on recipes with beer.

This is an adapted recipe that has been fine-tuned for optimum sweetness, with just the right amount of spicy flavor. All this while still having juicy, tender chicken that is beautifully coated with a rich, moist sauce. If you want perfect grilled salmon, check out my popular Lemon and Dill Salmon Kabobs.

Play around with different beer choices; wheat beer adds a hoppy citrus undertone. Stronger beers like an IPA will create even bolder flavor. Depending on how long you cook down the sauce, you may need to add more or less cornstarch to thicken it up. I suggest adding it at the end, starting with less and adding more if needed.

Follow instructions in the recipe below for making this perfect barbecue chicken. The food or photographs have not been doctored in any way, they will look that juicy when you make this wonderful barbecue recipe.

Serve with a garnish of beer on the side and have a happy and safe holiday! This recipe is featured in my Plating Pixels Top 10 Summer Potluck & Barbecue Recipes free eCookbook. I now have a 30 Minutes to Healthy Eating free eCookbook if you register here on in the sidebar to download and receive even more recipes.

Food Science and Cooking Tips:

Pre-baking chicken in the oven guarantees evenly cooked chicken. Simply bake the chicken with a little bit of salt and pepper to bring out the savory, meaty flavor (we’re not cooking till it’s done, just enough to get a head start).

After about 30 minutes take out the chicken, smothered with a delicious sauce, and grill both sides until cooked through and just crispy. A shorter grill time prevents the sauce from burning off on the grill, and keeps chicken moist and juicy.

Products used in this recipe:

Pyrex Clear Baking Dish
T-fal Nonstick Cookware Set, 10-Piece
Char-Broil 3-Burner Gas Grill

Leave a comment below and star rating if you made this recipe or want to share your thoughts.

 

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5 from 1 vote

Sweet and Spicy Beer Barbecue Chicken

Beer barbecue chicken with sweetness and just the right amount of spicy flavor. Juicy, tender chicken that is beautifully coated with a rich, moist sauce.

Course Barbecue

Cuisine American

Keyword easy barbecue chicken, easy spicy barbeque chicken, sweet and spicy chicken

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 55 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes

Calories 343kcal

Servings 8

Author: Matt Ivan

Did you know? Servings and ingredient amounts can be adjusted on all my recipes. Click the green number above to change.

Ingredients

Chicken

• ▢ 8 chicken drumsticks or thighs, about 3 pounds total
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• ▢ 2 tablespoons cooking oil, for grilling

Sauce

• ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ▢ ½ cup finely chopped yellow onion, about 1 medium
• ▢ 4 cloves garlic, minced
• ▢ 1 tablespoon chili powder
• ▢ 1 cup beer, gluten free, wheat, ale or lager + extra for drinking
• ▢ ½ cup ketchup
• ▢ 2 tablespoons chili hot sauce, Sriracha
• ▢ 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, use gluten-free
• ▢ 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• ▢ 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
• ▢ 2 teaspoons cornstarch, more or less depending on thickness

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375º F. Place chicken drumsticks into large baking dish in single layer. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake uncovered for 30-35 minutes, or until chicken is slightly firm and reads 170º F internally with instant-read thermometer. While baking start making sauce (chicken will be grilled to completion later).
• To make sauce: Heat olive oil in medium sauce-pan to medium heat. Add onion and garlic, cook about 5 minutes until tender, string occasionally. Stir in chili powder and cook 1 minute more. Stir in 1-cup of beer, ketchup, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar and brown sugar. Bring to low boil then simmer on low, uncovered, for about 15 minutes. Sauce will thicken. Stir in cornstarch, cook additional 5 minutes until consistency of barbecue sauce.
• To barbecue chicken: Heat gas or charcoal grill to medium heat. Wet paper towel with cooking oil and grease grill to prevent sticking. Immediately place baked chicken on grill and brush tops generously with half of barbecue sauce. Cook, covered for 8 minutes. Flip over and top other side with remaining sauce. Cook covered for an additional 6-8 minutes or until completely cooked in center (meat will be white). Serve with more beer on the side.

Nutrition Facts

Sweet and Spicy Beer Barbecue Chicken

Amount Per Serving

Calories 343 Calories from Fat 198

% Daily Value*

Fat 22g34%

Saturated Fat 5g31%

Cholesterol 86mg29%

Sodium 415mg18%

Potassium 335mg10%

Carbohydrates 9g3%

Fiber 0g0%

Sugar 5g6%

Protein 22g44%

Vitamin A 535IU11%

Vitamin C 6.4mg8%

Calcium 26mg3%

Iron 1.4mg8%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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– Recipe adapted from Better Homes and Gardens: Chicken Dinners. 2014. Print

Are you excited to try this a what’s your favorite type of barbecue recipe?