Maple and Chipotle Broiler-Barbecued Chicken Thighs

Early Monday morning I swung open the front door and gazed out at a gusting winter blizzard. By 9:00 a.m. school children who were eagerly anticipating their first day back at school after an extended winter break thanks to Omicron, headed out with their toboggans for a day of sledding instead. Over five hundred TTC buses were stranded in thick snow piles and transport trucks were snowed in on the highway, unable to move for as long as twelve hours. By 7:00 p.m., thirty-six centimeters of snowfall had officially been recorded in Toronto.

Maple and Chipotle Broiler-Barbecued Chicken Thighs

I stared out of my kitchen window in dismay at the mound of snow that buried my barbecue. I am an intrepid devotee of grilling al fresco but I would have needed a dog sled to reach my Weber. According to Laraine Perri of Fine Cooking magazine, “When it’s too cold to grill outside, you can mimic the flavor of barbecued chicken with your oven broiler.” There never was a better time to revisit this recipe from Fine Cooking for maple and chipotle broiler-barbecued chicken. Broiling doesn’t deliver the aromatic smoke that’s created during grilling when fat and juice drip onto charcoal or the hot bars of a gas grill, but ingredients like smoked paprika and chipotles, are very satisfying substitutes for actual smoke. Between the smoky spice rub and the sweet-hot barbecue sauce, this broiler-barbecued chicken really delivers the taste of the great outdoors, even when it’s blanketed with two feet of snow.

Nan’s barbecue (!!)

Assemble your ingredients. There are two separate components to this recipe: a dry rub for the chicken and a homemade barbecue sauce for basting the chicken when it is almost completely cooked.

Make the Sauce:

In a medium saucepan, combine the ketchup, maple syrup, molasses, vinegar, chipotles, Worcestershire sauce (if using), dry mustard, onion powder, and garlic powder. Bring the sauce to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 3 minutes to thoroughly combine the flavors. Set the sauce aside.

Make the Chicken:

In a small bowl combine the smoked paprika, sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, chipotle powder (if using, 1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper. Remove the skin from the chicken and sprinkle both sides of the chicken pieces with the spice rub. If you have time, cover the chicken with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours. If time is a luxury you don’t have, proceed to the next step. 

Position a rack 4-6 inches from the broiler element in your oven. Turn on the broiler. I made this chicken two ways. For method one, I sprayed a rack with cooking spray and rested it inside a baking sheet that was lined with parchment paper. I also made it on a grill pan that I preheated in the oven under the broiler. There was really no appreciable difference in the two methods. I also made the chicken skin-on and skin-off. Both chickens were equally moist and juicy.

Brush both sides of the spiced chicken with oil. Spray a cooling rack with grilling spray and rest it inside a baking sheet that is lined with parchment paper. Alternately, spray a grill pan with cooking spray and place it under the broiler to preheat. Arrange the chicken skin-side down (the side where the skin used to be) on the prepared rack or grill pan. Broil for 7 minutes. Flip the chicken with tongs and rearrange the thighs if you notice that the chicken is not cooking evenly. Broil the chicken for another 7 minutes. You can peek to make sure it isn’t burning. Brush the chicken with some of the sauce and broil for 2 minutes, until the sauce begins to caramelize. Flip and brush the chicken with more sauce. Broil for another 2 minutes. Remove the chicken from the oven and take the temperature of a piece of chicken through the thickest part of the meat. The temperature of the cooked chicken should be 165 F. (If the chicken is not completely cooked, put it back in a 425 F. oven for 10 minutes. Do not put it back under the broiler. The barbecue sauce might burn.) Transfer the chicken to a platter and allow it to rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Print Recipe

Maple and Chipotle Broiler-Barbecued Chicken Thighs

Meat, Chicken and Fish

By Laraine Perri, Fine Cooking Issue 121 – Serves: 6

Prep Time: 15 minutes – Cooking Time: 18 minutes – Total Time: 33 minutes

Chicken marinated in a smoky spice rub and mopped with a sweet-hot homemade barbecue sauce

Ingredients

• For the Sauce:
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon minced chipotle chiles (from a can of chipotles in adobo, or jarred minced chipotle peppers)
• 1 tablespoon fish-free Worcestershire sauce (optional)
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• For the chicken:
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• 1 tablespoon packed dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder (or more smoked paprika)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 12 bone-in chicken thighs (about 3 lb.), skin removed
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, for brushing

Instructions

Make the sauce

1

In a medium saucepan, combine the ketchup, maple syrup, molasses, vinegar, chipotles, Worcestershire sauce (if using), dry mustard, onion powder, and garlic powder. Bring the sauce to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 3 minutes to thoroughly combine the flavors. Set the sauce aside.

Make the chicken

2

In a small bowl combine the smoked paprika, sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, chipotle powder (or more smoked paprika), 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper. Remove the skin from the chicken and sprinkle both sides of the chicken pieces with the spice rub. Rub the spices into the chicken. If you have time, cover the chicken with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for 2 to 3 hours. If time is a luxury you don't have, proceed to the next step. 

3

Position a rack 4-6 inches from the broiler element in your oven. Turn on the broiler. Spray a cooling rack with grilling spray and rest it inside a baking sheet that is lined with parchment paper. Alternately, spray a grill pan with cooking spray and place it under the broiler to preheat.

4

Brush both sides of the spiced chicken with oil. Arrange the chicken skin side down (the side where the skin used to be) on the rack or grill pan. Broil for 7 minutes. Flip the chicken with tongs and rearrange the thighs if you notice that the chicken is not cooking evenly. Broil the chicken for another 7 minutes. You can peek to make sure it isn't burning. Brush the chicken with some of the sauce and broil for 2 minutes, until the sauce begins to caramelize. Flip and brush the chicken with more sauce. Broil for another 2 minutes.

5

Remove the chicken from the oven and take the temperature of a piece of chicken through the thickest part of the meat. The temperature of the cooked chicken should be 165 F. (If the chicken is not completely cooked, put it back in a 425 F. oven for 10 minutes. Do not put it back under the broiler. The barbecue sauce might burn.) Transfer the chicken to a platter and allow it to rest for 10 minutes before serving. This chicken is best served fresh and hot.

Notes

If you can't find chipotle powder, substitute smoked paprika. Smoked paprika will provide a similar earthy smoke as chipotle powder. Both are made from smoked chilies. In Toronto, Derlea foods (http://www.derlea.ca/foodservice/) produces minced chipotle purée. This product can be found in many grocery stores. In the United States, Roland canned chipotle chiles are available. The spice rub and barbecue sauce can be prepared in advanced and refrigerated until needed.