Yes you can make BBQ chicken in the oven…and eat it too! No standing guard over a hot grill making sure you don’t burn your chicken. No over-cooked, dry-as-a-bone chicken breast. No messy, sticky, yucky grill to clean up afterwards. Best of all you can have BBQ chicken anytime of year, even if it is 40° below zero outside.
You will need a 13” x 9” baking dish, a pair of tongs, enough aluminum foil to cover the dish tightly, a pastry or BBQ brush, your favorite all purpose seasoning (or just good old salt and pepper), some liquid smoke, One 12oz beer (or a cup and a half of water), Six bone-in or boneless chicken breast, and of course BBQ sauce. You can make your own secret concoction or use a store bought brand.
Turn on your oven to 325° and while it is pre-heating season your chicken on both sides (or you can season the night before and have them ready in the fridge). Next pour your beer (or water) into the 13” x 9” baking dish. Add to this 1 ½ teaspoons of liquid smoke (less if you do not desire a robust smoked flavor or skip if you would rather not have any smoked flavor at all). Arrange the chicken breasts so that they lay flat in the backing dish (for bone-in breasts place them skin side down and they may be shingled if needed to fit them into the dish). Cover dish with foil and clinch tightly around the edges of the dish. When the oven temperature reaches 325° place dish into the oven (the oven rack should be in the center position). Set a timer for 1 hour. When the timer goes off remove the pan from the oven, carefully remove the foil (you are going to use it again), turn the breasts over with the tongs, replace the foil, put back in the oven, and set the timer for 50 minutes. When the timer goes off this time you will again remove the foil from the top reserving it for one last use, remove the chicken breasts onto a plate or other vessel, pour all the liquid out of the baking dish (you may choose to rinse or wash out the dish at this point), place the foil (top side down) into the baking dish to line the bottom, place the chicken breasts on to the foil and sauce with a pastry or BBQ brush. Coat the chicken breasts liberally on both sides with the BBQ sauce, then place back into the oven (uncovered) for another 25 minutes or so, just to heat the sauce through.
That is it! Delicious BBQ chicken breasts from the oven! You will find them to be tender and juicy and lip smackin’ good!
For more Oven BBQ recipes click on the links below.
