Hawaiian Grilled Chicken Thighs – smokey, succulent grilled chicken thighs marinated in a sweet pineapple juice, soy sauce, sriracha, ginger lemon sauce. Grill meat packed with so much flavors. It’s sweet, spicy and super delicious!
I might have been itching to finish off writing this post so I can pack up all our stuff and fly to Hawaii. :
Aloha!!!!
This, my friends, is a spin off of my popular chicken recipe baked Huli-Huli Chicken which is said to originate in the beautiful state of Hawaii.
Since it’s summer season, I decided to make this Hawaiian Grilled Chicken Thighs as a grilled version of that huli-huli chicken post just so you can add another wonderful recipe to your summer grilling. And you’d be thankful later! 😉
This grilled chicken thighs boast a plethora of flavors that permeates every inch of this protein. I highly recommend that you marinate the chicken overnight to allow the flavors to meld in beautifully into the chicken meat.
It’s a marinade that would transport you to the blue beaches of tropical Hawaii! You’ll be amazed on how such wonderful marinade could come beautifully from simple and easy to find ingredients like pineapple juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, sriracha, ketchup, ginger, cumin, lemon juice and garlic.
There’s no need for you to scour for specialty shops to find your winning ingredient for this recipe. All of this are within your hands reach!
Perhaps, the waiting part of this dish is the hardest one. But if you’re pressed with time, an hour or two of marinating would work fine.
If you aren’t into chicken thighs, you sure can use your favorite chicken part, but just remember to adjust the grilling time. Or you can even use this marinade for pork cuts. How does that sound to you?
You’ll be greeted with the juiciness and sweetness of the pineapple juice on your first bite, then you’ll enjoy the vibrant, savory, spicy flavors as you go deeper. Such complexity of flavors is a delight to your taste buds.
Pair it with warm white rice and my easy cucumber tomato salad as a side.
Don’t forget your favorite ice cold drinks to get you going. 😉
Enjoy!
Tips and Notes:
- You can use other chicken cuts and different chicken meat to go along with this marinade. Checkout this grilling time chart as your guide to grilling meats.
- You may baste the chicken with the cooked marinade towards the last 5 minutes of grilling. Make sure to bring the marinade to a boil to kill all food-borne bacteria if you plan on using it as a baste.
- You can substitute hot sauce with red pepper flakes.
- If you want more thicker sauce on this chicken, add more ketchup to the marinade.
Hawaiian Grilled Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- 5-6 chicken thighs
- ½ cup unsweetened pineapple or passion fruit juice
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons honey (optional)
- 1 teaspoon sriracha , adjust to taste
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- ½ tablespoon fresh grated ginger
- 1 teaspoon cumin spice
- 1/2 -1 lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- ¼ cup chicken broth
- green onions , sliced for garnishing
Instructions
- Season Chicken thighs with salt and pepper according to preference. You might have to go easy with the salt – since it has soy sauce . Set aside
- In a medium bowl, mix the passion fruit or pineapple juice , soy sauce, brown sugar, honey, sriracha, ketchup, ginger, cumin, lemon juice, garlic and chicken broth.
- Pour marinade into the bowl of chicken or ziploc bag. Thoroughly mix so chicken is covered with marinade.
- Cover with saran wrap or if using Ziploc seal and place in the fridge to marinade. For at least 3 hours or overnight for best flavor.
- When ready to cook- remove chicken from the fridge, and thoroughly drain. Set marinade aside.
- In a small saucepan simmer the remaining Huli Huli marinade- for about 5 minutes. Adjust taste with chicken broth, pepper and/or ketchup. If you want a thicker sauce then add more ketchup.
- Lightly brush grill with oil or cooking spray. Then place drained chicken thighs on grill, skin side down. Grill for 4-5 minutes or until chicken has grill marks or brown .
- Flip chicken and grill the other side, flipping every 3-4 minutes so it doesn’t burn until the internal temperature reaches 165ºF (about 25-30 minutes).
- You may baste with cooked marinade towards the last 5 minutes of grilling.
- Garnish with sliced green onions.
Nutrition Information:
Season Chicken thighs with salt and pepper according to preference. You might have to go easy with the salt – since it has soy sauce. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, mix the passion fruit or pineapple juice , soy sauce, brown sugar, sriracha, ketchup, ginger, cumin, lemon juice and garlic.
Pour marinade into the bowl of chicken or ziploc bag. Thoroughly mix so chicken is covered with marinade.
Cover with saran wrap or if using Ziploc seal and place in the fridge to marinade. For at least 3 hours or overnight for best flavor. When ready to cook- remove chicken from the fridge, and thoroughly drain. Set marinade aside. n a small saucepan simmer the remaining Huli Huli marinade- for about 5 minutes. Adjust taste with chicken broth, pepper and/or ketchup. If you want a thicker sauce then add more ketchup.
Lightly brush grill with oil or cooking spray. Then place drained chicken thighs on grill, skin side down. Grill for 4-5 minutes or until chicken has grill marks or brown . FLip chicken and grill the other side ., flipping every 3-4 minutes so it doesn’t burn until the internal temperature reaches 165ºF. (about 25-30 minutes). You may baste with cooked marinade towards the last 5 minutes of grilling. Garnish with sliced green onions
MikeRad says
Amount of lemon is not clear
Imma says
It’s a half to a whole lemon, juiced. Hope that clarifies it.
Liz Sabo Johnson says
Your marinade was wonderful. Those who don’t have a grill an grill pan or air fryer would work wonders. We grilled vegetables and pineapple.
Thank you!
Immaculate Bites says
Thank you so much, Liz! 🙂
DonnaQuixote says
Delicious chicken! Super marinade, sour, sweet and a tad of spice. Oops–I think more garlic and ginger than what it called for “slipped” into the mix. Also, I am OD’ing on cumin from my Mexican and Indian bender so I left that out.
I didn’t grill. It’s winter and I am a terrible griller anyway. I baked for 15 minutes per side for a total of 1 hr (flipped it three times).
ImmaculateBites says
Awesome! Thanks for the feedback! Greatly appreciated!!!!
Nina says
Hi!
What temperature/heat setting should the grill be on? And do you use bone-in or boneless chicken thighs?!
Thank you!
ImmaculateBites says
350 Degrees.If the grill flares up, move the chicken temporarily away from the heat.
DonnaQuixote says
Look at the pictures. They all are bone-in skin-on.
barbra says
currently don’t have a grill as we live on the 2nd floor of an apt that bans grilling…can it be ovenbaked? what temp? how long? thanks!
imma africanbites says
Hi, Barbara. You can check the bake version and instructions here >>> https://www.africanbites.com/huli-huli-chicken/
Mugisha Derrick says
For sure your a talented chef and i like your garnish in food and your nutritional facts!!!? For sure be blessed my Chef
imma africanbites says
You TOO, Derrick. Have a blessed one and thanks for dropping by!
Jasdip says
This looks amazing, but I’m not sure how it differs than your Huli Huli chicken. The marinade is the same.