Buy Bone-in, Skin on Thighs
Take thighs out of packaging and pat dry.
Don’t do any trimming – the skin will shrink and the bones are going to be pulled out later (easily).
Dry Brining the Thighs a Day or 2 Ahead
Take some kosher salt (1/2 tbsp per thigh, ish) and apply to the meat and skin side of the thighs.
Allow these to dry brine in your refrigerator (skin side up) on the bottom shelf for 2 hours, ideally overnight or a max of 2 days.
This is after 2 days:
The Next Day, Get Your Grill to 300-325F for Direct Heat BBQ
The idea here is to elevate the meat above the hot coals so that it doesn’t burn.
Any grill can work but I used my charcoal grill with an elevated grill grate.
Place chicken thighs skin side down for 1 hour.
After 1 Hour, Flip the Chicken Thighs
When you flip, take some spray cooking oil – like avocado oil, olive oil, duck fat, beef fat, etc. – and spray the skin with the oil.
Allow the thighs to continue to grill skin side up for 30 minutes.
Take Off the Grill When ALL Chicken thighs are 200F+ Internal and Rest for 5-10 Minutes
Going this high ensures the meat is fall-off-the-bone tender and that all the skin fat has rendered.
If any of the skin has “charred” you can use some scissors to snip it off OR leave it on.
Don’t worry about drying the meat out – chicken thighs aren’t white meat and are filled with collagen.
Meaning they’ll taste better when cooked to this high of a temperature.
Once Cooled, Pull the Bone Out of the Meat
The bone should pull easily and cleanly out of the thigh.
Make Spicy Mayo Sauce
In a bowl combine:
- 2 tbsp Mayo
- 1 tsp Sriracha or favorite hot sauce
- 1 tsp Water
In the past I’ve also tried taking like 1/4 cup of hot sauce and putting it into a Ziplock baggy with the thigh and then shaking it.
I find this tends to soften the skin and prefer the above spread onto the roll instead.
Assemble Chicken Sandwich
To a bun spread the spicy mayo you just made on the top and bottom bun.
Then add your de-boned chicken thigh.
Top with whatever you’d like – dill pickles, onions, lettuce, etc.
Enjoy!
Spicy Grilled BBQ Chicken Sandwich
Ingredients
- 3 Buns
- 3 whole Bone-in, Skin-on Chicken Thighs
- 1.5 tbsp Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt
Spicy Mayo
- 2 tbsp Mayo
- 1 tsp Sriracha
- 1 tsp Water
Toppings?
- Sweet onion
- Dill pickle chips
Instructions
A Day in Advance, Dry Brine the Thighs
- Take chicken thighs out of packaging and pat dry.
- Take 1/2 tbsp of diamond crystal kosher salt and apply to the skin side and meat side of each chicken thigh.
- Put the salted thighs into your refrigerator, skin-side up and allow these to dry brine for at least 2 hours – ideally overnight OR a max of 2 days.
The Next Day, Get Your Grill to 300-325F
- The idea here is to elevate the meat above the hot coals so that it doesn’t burn.Any grill can work but I used my charcoal grill with an elevated grill grate.
- Put chicken thighs skin side down for 1 hour.
After 1 Hour, Flip the Thighs
- When you flip, spray the skin with some cooking oil – like avocado oil, olive oil, duck fat, beef fat, etc.
- Allow the thighs to grill skin side up for 30 minutes.
Take the Thighs Off the Grill When ALL of them are 200F+ Internal
- Then rest for 5-10 minutes.
- Once cooled, take the bone out of the thigh – if you went to 200F, it will easily come out.
Make Sriracha Mayo
- In a bowl combine the following ingredients.2 tbsp Mayo, 1 tsp Sriracha, 1 tsp Water
Assemble Sandwich
- Grab your buns and smear your sriracha mayo on.
- Then add your crispy chicken thighs.
- Top with dill pickles, onions, lettuce, etc. Whatever you like. Enjoy!
