Sticky Honey Orange Grilled Chicken
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Sticky Honey Orange Grilled Chicken has such a bright and delicious blend of sweet, tangy and smokey flavors. Its so easy to make and that glaze will leave everyone craving more! My whole family loved this chicken!
A Different Take on Orange Chicken
We are all used to the battered and deep fried, bite size pieces of Asian Orange Chicken but I wanted a grill friendly orange chicken with some unique and exciting flavors and that’s just what you get here.
It may seem like an odd blend of ingredients but it just works. And the Mexican hot sauce is just what I had on hand but use what you like. I did also try this with sriracha and I preferred something less sweet and more tangy, something that was maybe a little less bold.
Ingredients for this Sticky Honey Orange Grilled Chicken
- Oranges
- Lemon
- Olive oil
- Hot sauce
- Dijon mustard
- Garlic
- Chicken thighs
- Butter
- Honey
- BBQ sauce
Breasts will work too for this recipe, just pound them to an even thickness with the flat side of a meat mallet and adjust grill time if needed (for example, 8 oz breasts may only take 4 minutes per side total, to brush with glaze at about 3 minutes).
How to Make this Marinated Grilled Chicken
First you’ll start by mixing together all of the marinated ingredients, the orange juice and zest, lemon juice, olive oil, hot sauce, dijon mustard and garlic.
Place the trimmed chicken thighs in a gallon size resealable bag then pour marinade over. Seal bag while pressing out excess air then let marinate for at least 1 hour and up to 6 hours.
After marinating preheat grill over medium-high heat.
While grill is preheating prepare the glaze. In a small sauce pan melt the butter, whisk in orange juice, orange zest, honey, BBQ sauce, and dijon mustard. Set aside about 1/3 cup of glaze for serving.
Place chicken on grill then grill until it’s almost cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Brush with glaze and grill about 2 minutes more per side. Serve warm with remaining glaze
A Blend of Ingredients that Just Works
I’m already planning out the next time I’ll be making this chicken because it was just that good! At first I questioned this combination of ingredients but it just works.
And I loved how I could really taste the fresh orange flavors in the chicken. It wasn’t like using orange marmalade. Here you get fresh zest and fresh squeezed orange juice in marinade and the glaze so everyone will taste that bright and satisfying orange goodness.
Don’t miss out on this recipe, it’s just too tasty to pass up!
More Grilled Chicken Recipes You Might Like
- Grilled Greek Lemon Chicken
- Grilled Cilantro Lime Chicken with Avocado Salsa
- Grilled Jerk Chicken with Mango Avocado Salsa
- Honey Lime Chicken Skewers
- Grilled Chicken with Honey Mustard Glaze
Follow Easy Cooking Zone
Sticky Honey Orange Grilled Chicken
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
- 1 Tbsp orange zest
- 1 1/2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 Tbsp hot sauce
- 2 Tbsp dijon mustard
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 1/2 lbs boneless chicken thighs, trimmed of excess fat
- 1 tsp chopped parsley, for garnish (optional)
Glaze
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
- 2 tsp orange zest
- 1/4 cup BBQ sauce
- 2 Tbsp dijon mustard
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl whisk together orange juice, orange zest, lemon juice, olive oil, hot sauce, dijon mustard and garlic.
- Place chicken thighs in a gallon size resealable bag, pour marinade over chicken then seal bag while pressing out excess air.
- Rub marinade over chicken, transfer to refrigerator and let marinate 1 - 6 hours.
- Preheat a grill over medium-high heat to about 400 degrees.
- While grill is preheating prepare glaze - in a small saucepan melt butter over medium heat.
- Whisk in honey, orange juice, orange zest, BBQ sauce and dijon mustard and remove from heat. Set aside about 1/3 cup for serving.
- Grill chicken about 4 minutes per side then brush with glaze and grill until cooked through (165 degrees in center) and slightly charred about 2 minutes per side more.
- Serve warm with reserved glaze, garnished with parsley if desired.
- Recipe source: adapted slightly from the Neely's