Teriyaki Chicken Thighs
This juicy teriyaki chicken thighs recipe is made with a simple homemade sauce — perfect for camping, cookouts, and easy summer dinners.
Ingredients
- 8 boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 cup water
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 5 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tbsp fresh ginger or 1 tsp ground
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp minced garlic or 1 tsp ground
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch
- 1/4 cup water
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine water, soy sauce, brown sugar, honey, ginger, and garlic. Whisk together.
- In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and water. Mix well.
- Pour the first mixture into a medium saucepan and cook on medium heat (about 5 minutes).
- When the sauce begins to boil, add the cornstarch mixture and whisk continuously.
- When the teriyaki marinade begins to thicken (about 2 minutes), remove from heat. Allow to cool to room temperature.
- In a dish or freezer bag, coat the chicken in 3/4 of the teriyaki marinade and place in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
- Place the chicken thighs on the grill, discard marinade, and baste with reserved teriyaki sauce.
- Cook for 5 minutes, flip, and baste with more sauce.
- Grill chicken thighs for an additional 5 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 170 degrees F when measured with a meat thermometer.
- Top with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and serve.
Notes
- Any kind of teriyaki sauce will work, but we love this easy homemade teriyaki sauce. It combines brown sugar, ginger, and soy sauce in a way that our whole family loves. Use your favorite sauce or make your own teriyaki sauce with simple ingredients from the grocery store.
- Prep the meat at home before you go camping and then bring the marinating chicken on your trip.
- Use olive oil to season your grill before cooking. This will help to prevent the chicken from sticking. Lining your grill grates with aluminum foil will also help.
- Though we love using our Traeger to make these boneless chicken thighs, they can also be made using a gas grill, charcoal grill, in the oven, or in a slow cooker.
- The key to really tender meat is cooking it low and slow. The long cook time allows the connective tissue in tough cuts of meat to break down. Marinating your meat also helps this process along.
- This recipe can be made with boneless chicken breasts, chicken wings, and chicken drumsticks too. Whatever cut of meat you are using, be sure the chicken’s internal temperature reaches the recommended temperature for food safety.
- If you use different chicken pieces, cooking time will vary, particularly if they are bone-in pieces. Always use an instant-read thermometer in the thickest part of the chicken to determine whether the meat is cooked thoroughly.
- Test this recipe out with different teriyaki sauces to find the ones your family enjoys most.
- Instead of using your favorite teriyaki sauce, try making your own dry rub for chicken.
- Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to three days.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!