Ruston High Head Football Coach Jerrod Baugh is known for more than just the gridiron — he’s also celebrated for his exceptional grilling skills.
The Lincoln Parish Journal thanks Coach Baugh for sharing his barbecue chicken thigh recipe with us all as football season is about to kick off.
Recipe cooked and verified by Kyle Roberts
Ingredients:
- 1 lb boness, skinless chicken thighs
- Adkins Homestyle Chicken and Pork Rub
- Light salt and pepper
- Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ Sauce (griller’s choice)
First, set your chicken thighs out early to get the meat to room temperatue. Next, fire up your grill of choice to the hottest you can get it. (Coach Baugh is a charcoal guy and uses mesquite briquettes ; I prefer a wood-pellet grill up to 500 degrees.) While the grill is heating up, lightly salt and pepper the chicken on both sides before liberally seasoning the thighs with the Adkins Rub.
Pro-tip: The Adkins Rub is delicious and has enough salt where you don’t need to put as much salt on the thighs at the start — like I did. (Alas, old habits die hard – salt and pepper is everything to me on a chicken.)
Once the grill has reached its temperature, put the chicken thighs on the grill. You’ll want good grill marks, so resist the temptation to flip them too early. I let the chicken stay for seven minutes before flipping, and I’ll admit — I thought that was too long. Incorrect. After flipping the chicken, keep on for five more minutes.
Pro-tip: You don’t want to flip any grilled meat (steak, chicken, burgers, etc.) too many times for two reasons: good grill marks and keeping juices locked in.
Once the chicken has finished, take off the grill and let rest for five minutes to ensure juiciness. Double-check that the internal temperature is at least 160 degrees F with a meat thermometer.
Next, you have an option: you can eat the chicken as is, or you can put the chicken in a casserole dish and brush Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce on top (the flavor is up to you). Stick in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes before serving.
I tried both ways, and I slightly enjoyed the BBQ sauce method more.
Pro-tip: A sweet BBQ sauce complements the Adkins seasoning and draws out more flavors.
The chicken is best served with coleslaw, beans, rice or greens. Baugh also recommends pairing the chicken with roasted ears of corn you can cook on the grill, as well.
The chicken can also be sliced and put into a tortilla for a delicious chicken taco.
Enjoy!
