Sweet and Spicy Chicken Thighs on the Grate
Four-part rub, bone-in thighs, and a fire. The skin does the rest.
- calories
- 480
- weight
- 9 oz
- cal / oz
- 53
- protein
- 38 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 35 min
- total time
- 45 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Grill grate
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- Foil packet
- Pre-mix at home
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs | 8 thighs | packed frozen, thawing in the cooler by day two |
|---|---|---|
| Kosher salt | 1 tbsp | |
| Black pepper | 1 tbsp | coarse ground |
| Brown sugar | 1 tbsp | press it through your fingers if it has clumped |
| Paprika | 1 tbsp |
Method
- Build a fire and let it burn down to coals. You want steady heat under the grate, not flames licking the meat.
- Pat the thighs dry with a paper towel. Wet skin steams instead of crisping.
- Mix the salt, pepper, brown sugar, and paprika, then rub it over every surface, skin side hardest.
- Lay the thighs skin side up on the grate, off to the side of the hottest coals. Cover with a foil tent or an inverted pot if you have one. Cook 25 to 30 minutes.
- Move them over the coals skin side down for the last 3 to 5 minutes. Stand there and watch. Sugar goes from browned to burnt fast.
- Pull when the juices run clear and the meat pulls back from the bone. Rest five minutes before eating.
This started as an oven recipe, which is useless in camp. The method transfers cleanly because the oven was only ever doing two jobs: steady moderate heat to cook the meat through, then a short blast to crisp the skin. Coals under a grate do the first, and moving the thighs directly over them does the second.
The rub is equal parts salt, pepper, brown sugar, and paprika, which is why it survives being measured by eye at a picnic table. The sugar is what browns and blackens, so it is also the reason those last few minutes need your full attention. Bone-in thighs are forgiving over uneven coals in a way breasts are not — a few extra minutes costs you nothing.
Packing
Premix the rub at home in a film canister or small jar; it is equal parts of four things and easy to forget one in camp. Freeze the thighs solid and pack them at the bottom of the cooler. Lay foil over the grate under the chicken so cleanup is a fold and a pack-out.
Variations
- Add cayenne to the rub if you want the spicy half to mean it.
- A cast iron pan with a lid works instead of the grate, on a fire ring or a two-burner stove.
- The same rub is good on a pork shoulder steak or thick-cut bacon.
https://www.pinchmeimeating.com/crispy-baked-chicken-thighs