Saucy Rossy BBQ
Chicken

Honey Garlic BBQ Chicken

Juicy charcoal-grilled chicken kissed with applewood smoke, seasoned with PEI's Noble Chef rub and layered with Royal Nova honey garlic BBQ sauce.

TimeWeeknight grill Prep15 min YieldServes 4 CategoryChicken Watch5:16
Honey Garlic BBQ Chicken — watch on YouTube

Watch the full cook on YouTube

Method

  1. 1Fire up the charcoal kettle grill with Kingsford charcoal and add a chunk of local applewood for sweet smoke.Bank the coals to one side for a two-zone setup and put the applewood chunk at the edge of the bed so it smoulders rather than flames. Apple is mild and gives poultry good colour without turning it bitter. Aim for around 375°F on the indirect side, and wait for thin blue smoke before anything goes on.
  2. 2Season the chicken all over with Noble Chef Chicken Dry Rub.Pat the pieces dry first — wet skin steams instead of browning. Work some rub under the skin where you can loosen it, which seasons the meat rather than just the fat layer on top. Season the undersides too.
  3. 3Grill the chicken over the coals, turning as needed for even colour.Start on the indirect side with the lid down and turn every 8–10 minutes, moving pieces around to even out hot spots. If you are cooking mixed pieces, remember breast finishes well before thighs and legs — put the dark meat closer to the fire and pull the breast earlier.
  4. 4Brush on a couple of layers of Waves of HG Honey Garlic BBQ Sauce near the end of the cook.Last 5–8 minutes only, brushed thin, letting each coat tack up before the next. Honey garlic sauce is heavy on sugar and it will burn black over live coals in under a minute — keep it on the indirect side, and move over the fire for no more than a minute at the very end if you want it to caramelize.
  5. 5Pull the chicken once it reaches 165°F internal.165°F is right for breast. If you are cooking thighs and legs, take them to 175–185°F instead — dark meat is genuinely better there and does not dry out. Rest 5 minutes on a rack before serving.
  6. 6Plate it up with creamy garlic mash and sweet corn.Spoon any sauce left in the brush pot over the chicken at the table. The mash catches the glaze, which is half the point of serving it alongside.

Watch it on YouTube

What each ingredient is doing

Chicken
Works with any cut, but the target temperature changes: breast at 165°F, thighs and legs at 175–185°F. If you are cooking mixed pieces on one grill, arrange them by cut and pull them separately rather than treating the batch as one thing.
Noble Chef Chicken Dry Rub
A savoury poultry rub. The salt seasons and helps dry the skin; because the honey garlic sauce brings all the sweetness later, a savoury rub here is the right choice — two sugar layers would burn.
Waves of HG Honey Garlic BBQ Sauce
Honey-based and garlicky, so very high in sugar. It glazes beautifully and burns fast, which is why it goes on in the final minutes only. If yours is thin, reduce it in a pan first so it clings rather than running into the fire.
Applewood chunk
Mild, sweet fruit wood that suits chicken and pairs naturally with a honey glaze. One chunk is enough — chicken takes on smoke quickly. Cherry and maple behave the same way; avoid mesquite here, which fights the sweetness.
Charcoal briquettes
Steady and predictable, which is what a two-zone setup wants across 40 minutes. Lump burns hotter with more drift — usable, but it makes holding a consistent indirect temperature harder.

Temperature guide

StageTempWhat it means
Breast165°F / 74°CThe ceiling for white meat. It dries out immediately past this.
Thighs and legs175–185°F / 79–85°CDark meat's sweet spot, where the connective tissue renders. Safe at 165°F but chewy.
GlazeLast 5–8 minSugar-heavy sauces burn well below chicken's cooking temperature. Thin coats, indirect heat.
Rest5 minutesOn a rack rather than a plate, so the skin does not sit in juice.

Pitmaster tips

  • Use a savoury rub under a sweet sauce. Two sugar layers — a sweet rub and a honey glaze — will burn long before the chicken is cooked.
  • Glaze only in the last 5–8 minutes and keep it on the indirect side. Honey garlic sauce is mostly sugar and goes black over live coals in about a minute.
  • Two thin coats beat one thick one. Let each tack up before the next so it builds a lacquer instead of sliding off into the fire.
  • Work rub under the skin where you can. Seasoning on top of skin flavours the skin; underneath it flavours the meat.
  • Cook mixed pieces by cut, not as a batch. Breast at 165°F and dark meat at 175–185°F are different targets, and treating them the same guarantees one is wrong.
  • One chunk of apple. Chicken takes on smoke fast, and applewood's mild sweetness suits a honey glaze — more wood just muddies it.
  • Pat the chicken dry before seasoning. Surface moisture has to boil off before browning starts, and that costs you both time and skin texture.
  • Keep the lid closed between turns. It holds temperature and smothers flare-ups from the rendering fat.
  • Reduce the sauce in a pan first if it is thin. A thick glaze clings; a thin one runs straight through the grate.
  • Rest on a rack for 5 minutes so air circulates and the skin stays crisp.

If it goes wrong

The glaze burnt black
It went on too early or over direct heat. Honey garlic sauce is very high in sugar — the last 5–8 minutes on the indirect side is all it can take. Brush thin and give it a maximum of a minute over the coals at the very end.
The breast is dry but the thighs were good
You cooked everything to one temperature. Pull breast at 165°F and leave the dark meat on to 175–185°F. Position the dark meat closer to the fire so it finishes at a similar time.
The skin is soft
Too little heat or wet skin. Hold around 375°F and dry the chicken properly before seasoning. A minute or two over the coals at the end will crisp it — but do that before glazing, not after.
The sauce ran off and burnt on the coals
It was too thin, or applied too thickly. Reduce it in a pan for a few minutes to thicken, then brush thin coats.
Constant flare-ups
Rendering chicken fat hitting live coals. Cook indirect, keep the lid down, and move pieces rather than spraying water — water throws ash onto the food and does nothing to a fat fire.
It tastes bitter under the sweetness
Either burnt sugar from an early glaze or too much wood. Both are common with sweet sauces — glaze late and use one chunk.

Ways to change it up

Wings instead
The same rub, smoke and glaze on wings. Take them to 180–185°F and glaze in the last two or three minutes. Honey garlic wings are arguably the better use of this sauce.
Thighs only
Bone-in skin-on thighs are more forgiving than mixed pieces and can all be pulled at the same 180°F. The easiest version of this recipe to get right.
Extra garlic
Sauté minced garlic in a little butter and stir it into the sauce before glazing. Fresh garlic on top of a garlic sauce sounds redundant but it adds a sharper, brighter note the bottled sauce lacks.
Add heat
Whisk chili flakes, sriracha or a habanero sauce into the honey garlic. Sweet and hot is a natural pairing and the sugar carries the heat well.
Gas grill or oven
Gas: burners on one side, 375°F indirect, smoker box with apple chips. Oven: 400°F on a rack, glazing for the last 8 minutes. Same temperatures, same glazing discipline.

What to serve it with

  • Creamy garlic mash, as the recipe suggests — it catches the glaze, which is the point.
  • Sweet corn, grilled alongside on the direct side while the chicken finishes.
  • Something sharp: a slaw, pickles or a green salad with vinaigrette, against all that sweetness.
  • Steamed rice if you want to lean into the honey garlic direction.
  • Cold lager or cider; carbonation cuts a sugary glaze better than anything still.

Storage & reheating

Cooked chicken keeps 3–4 days refrigerated. Store it whole and on the bone in a sealed container rather than pulled or sliced — whole pieces stay far moister. Cool it before sealing so trapped steam does not soften the skin overnight.

The honey garlic glaze goes tacky in the fridge and comes back fine on reheating. Warm it in a 375°F oven or air fryer for 8–10 minutes to re-crisp the skin; a microwave will heat it but leaves the skin soft and the meat stringy.

It freezes for about three months. Dark meat handles freezing better than breast because its higher fat content protects the texture. Freeze whole pieces, thaw overnight in the fridge, and reheat hot and dry. Leftover honey garlic chicken pulled off the bone is excellent in fried rice, noodles or a sandwich.

FAQ

When should I put honey garlic sauce on grilled chicken?

The last 5–8 minutes, in thin coats, on the indirect side. Honey garlic sauce is very high in sugar and burns at a far lower temperature than chicken needs to cook — put it on at the start and it will be black carbon before the meat is done.

What temperature should grilled chicken be?

It depends on the cut. Breast at 165°F and no further, because it is lean and has no margin. Thighs, legs and wings at 175–185°F, because dark meat is full of connective tissue that only renders in that higher range. Cooking both to one number means getting one of them wrong.

Can I use a sweet rub as well as a sweet sauce?

Better not to. Sugar in the rub and sugar in the glaze means two layers both trying to caramelize, and the rub has been on the whole cook rather than the last few minutes. A savoury rub underneath a sweet glaze gives you balance and far less burning.

Which wood goes with honey garlic chicken?

Apple, cherry or maple — mild fruit and hardwoods whose natural sweetness complements the glaze. One chunk is plenty. Mesquite and heavy hickory fight the sweetness and turn poultry acrid quickly.

How do I stop the sauce running off the chicken?

Thicken it first. Simmer the sauce in a small pan for a few minutes until it coats the back of a spoon, then brush it on in thin layers letting each set. A thin sauce runs straight through the grate onto the coals, where it burns and smokes.

Can I make this without a smoker or wood?

Yes. The rub and the glaze carry most of the flavour. Charcoal alone gives you plenty of character, and on a gas grill a smoker box with a handful of apple chips gets you close. It is a very good weeknight recipe with or without the wood.

Know your cook

More information, cause recipe back stories are stupid

No 500-word life story — just the good-to-know stuff on what’s actually in this cook. Here’s the rundown on every real ingredient, health and nutrition wise.

Chicken
Chicken is a lean, versatile source of complete protein, B vitamins (especially niacin and B6), and selenium. Skinless breast is leanest; thighs and skin add flavour and a little more fat. Always cook poultry to a safe 165°F.
Garlic
Garlic adds big flavour for almost no calories and contains sulphur compounds (like allicin) long studied for heart and immune benefits. It's one of the healthiest ways to season a cook.
Honey
Honey is a natural sweetener that adds gloss and flavour; it's still sugar, so it's used sparingly. In raw form it carries trace antioxidants and beneficial compounds.

General nutrition info only, not medical or dietary advice — portions, brands and add-ons change the numbers.

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