BBQ Chicken

This is it, folks! My Colorado snowstorm! We've gone from a winter storm watch to a winter storm warning, the snowfall forecast has gone from 3 inches to 6-15, temperatures below zero. Batten down the hatches, it starts tonight! Of course, me and my craziness can't wait. I just hope we make it home from dress rehearsal! You'd never know this was coming looking outside. It's nearly 50 degrees out and sunny at the moment. But the clouds coming over the mountain give a hint of the weather that will be here by tonight!

I mentioned last week some of my failings as a "true gourmet", one being funky bits of meat. Sometimes this extends to chicken still on the bone- all those tendons and cartilage and things. I will admit I would much rather have a boneless, skinless chicken breast 8 times out of ten. The problem with those bit-less pieces of meat is that they are SO easy to ruin! Dry, tough, tasteless, in no time. I've been looking for a good BBQ chicken oven recipe for years, and friends, this is IT!

Oven-Baked BBQ Chicken (adapted slightly from Heather Likes Food)
Printable Recipe

4 bone-in chicken breast halves
3 Tb olive oil
1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika

a pinch of cayenne pepper
2 Tb fresh lemon juice
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 tsp kosher salt (or 1/2 tsp table salt)
1/2 tsp black pepper

favorite BBQ sauce

Remove skin from chicken breasts. Place chicken in a large ziplock bag. Combine olive oil, paprika, lemon juice, salt, peppers, and garlic in a small bowl and pour over chicken. Let chicken marinate for at least an hour, up to 6 hours, in the fridge. (Marinating too long will make the chicken mushy)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove chicken from the bag and place on a foil-lined baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper.

Bake for 20 minutes and brush a generous layer of BBQ sauce on the chicken. Return to the oven and repeat brushing with BBQ sauce every 5 minutes until the chicken is cooked through, about 15 to 25 minutes longer. You can use a thermometer to make sure it's done, it should read 165 degrees. Remove from oven and let the chicken rest for 5-10 minutes. Serve with warmed remainder of the BBQ sauce.

I could tell by the look and the smell that this was going to be goooood, but honestly, I was not prepared for HOW good.

Oh. My. Chicken. So flipping juicy, flavor all the way through, sticky sweet and spicy sauce all over, literally the best BBQ chicken I have ever tasted in my LIFE. And so easy!! You've got to try this one, it's amazing! And I'm not easy to please when it comes to BBQ chicken! 

Stay warm!