BBQ chicken quarters oven baked until crispy and then lacquered with your favorite thick BBQ sauce or glazed with a thin BBQ sauce. It’s a simple dish where the type of BBQ sauce can be switched up for different versions. While this is an oven BBQ chicken recipe. You can certainly BBQ or grill the chicken until done and crispy and then slather on that BBQ sauce. That’s the main secret to really good BBQ chicken. Cook it up crispy first and then apply the sauce.
Ingredients for BBQ Chicken
Chicken Quarters, Fat (melted lard, rendered chicken fat, or neutral oil), and sweet chili tang BBQ sauce or choice of BBQ sauce (thick for lacquering or thin for glazing).
Chicken Quarters
Clean and trim the chicken quarters. Most times with chicken quarters, there are internal organs lodged in the backbone. You will want to remove these for a cleaner taste. There is a thin membrane that runs from the backbone and across the thigh. Trim this away along with any excess fat.
Bend the joints to crack them to allow more heat to penetrate and cook through. It also makes for easier eating, since the bones can pull away easier.
For more information on how to clean and trim chicken quarters, visit How to prepare chicken. Save the trimmings to render out for other recipes. This is an excellent source of fat for frying, gravies, soups, etc., and can be rendered out here as the source of fat for brushing the chicken. For more information, see Rendered Fat.
Crispy Chicken
The crispness is important because once the BBQ sauce goes on, it will soften any crispness to the chicken. The crisping also dries out the meat where it crisps, which makes it soak up any sauces applied, in this case BBQ sauce, much better and deeper into the chicken.
This means anything that promotes crispness is good. Like rubbing baking soda on the skin or basting the chicken in fat as it cooks to ensure there is always fat on the skin, transferring max heat to crisp the skin, or a thin layer of fat in the pan to cook the chicken in. Even seasoning the chicken and refrigerating it for some time to dry out to further promote crisping when cooking the chicken.
How to cook crispy chicken quarters in the oven
Take your thawed chicken out to rest on the counter while you preheat the oven to 400°F with the rack in the middle position. After the chicken has been cleaned and trimmed, place chicken quarters on a thick-bottomed pan presentation side up.
Season with salt & pepper and set aside until the oven is warmed up. Generously brush oil or melted lard over the chicken quarters and transfer to the oven to cook for 40 minutes. Brush generously with excess fat in the pan or additional oil again, about half way through to promote crisping.
BBQ Sauce
This is where you can derive countless versions of BBQ chicken solely from the BBQ sauce. Use your favorite brand, or if you’re up for it, make your own. My go-to BBQ chicken sauces are Sweet Chili Tang BBQ sauce, Berry BBQ Sauce, Pappy BBQ Sauce, or go with store-bought BBQ sauce like Bull’s-Eye Bold Original.
First Layer of BBQ Sauce
Whether you plan on lacquering or glazing the chicken, the first layer will go on thin or otherwise not stick as well. This is because of the fat and juices on the exterior of the chicken. Once the first layer cooks up, it creates a more adhesive exterior for more sauce applied to stick to.
Laquered BBQ Chicken
“Lacquering” refers to brushing on thick BBQ sauce onto the meat and letting it cook and caramelize until it becomes tacky. The layering of BBQ sauce is repeated a few more times. This builds up a thick layer of saucy, messy, good BBQ chicken.
Glazed BBQ Chicken
“Glazed chicken” refers to a very thin BBQ sauce applied once or twice. It’s not as thick as a lacquered BBQ chicken. It is made with a thin BBQ sauce or a homemade BBQ sauce that is not reduced until thick but still rather thin. This allows the BBQ sauce to seep more into the meat. Whereas a lacquered BBQ chicken builds up the layers of BBQ sauce.
BBQ Rubbed Chicken
A BBQ rubbed chicken has no sauce. Instead, it relies on the BBQ seasoning or rotisserie seasoning to season the chicken. Although you can do both a dry rubbed chicken and then apply a sauce, either glazed or lacquered.
If you are after just a BBQ-rubbed chicken with no sauce. Then it is better to cook the chicken at 375°F for 45 minutes. Then shut the oven heat off but leave the chicken in the oven for 15-20 minutes before serving. Just the same for Rotisserie Chicken Quarters.
Rotisserie Seasoned BBQ Chicken
Instead of salt & pepper or a BBQ rub, we use rotisserie seasoning to season the chicken before basting on BBQ sauce at the very end.
The below image is rotisserie chicken quarters that can be enjoyed just like this. For a rotisserie seasoned BBQ chicken with BBQ sauce. Apply BBQ sauce at the very end to coat the chicken or serve BBQ sauce on the side for dipping.
BBQ Chicken Sides
BBQ chicken goes well with fries, baked potatoes, Caesar salad, or other cold salads like coleslaw. Corn on the cob in corn butter is an exceptional side.
Ingredients
- 4 Chicken Quarters - Cleaned and trimmed
- 1/4 C Fat - to brush the chicken, use melted lard, or neutral oil
- 1 portion Sweet Chili Tang BBQ Sauce - or other BBQ sauce, see notes
Salt & Pepper Blend
- 1 Tbl Sea Salt
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
- 1/2 tsp White Pepper
Instructions
- Chicken Quarters: Clean and trim the chicken; crack the joints to let in more heat and for easier eating. Place the chicken onto a thick-bottom roasting pan, presentation side up. For easier cleanup, line with foil and brush with fat to prevent sticking. Season with the salt & pepper blend and set aside until the oven is heated.
- Crispy Oven Chicken: Preheat the oven to 400°F with the rack in the middle position. Dab the chicken generously with fat and transfer to the oven to cook for 40 minutes. Brush the chicken with fat from the pan again or additional oil about halfway through.
- BBQ Sauce: While the chicken is cooking, prepare the BBQ sauce. Keep the BBQ sauce thin if you plan on glazing the chicken, or cook longer to reduce to a thick BBQ sauce for lacquering.
- BBQ Lacquered Chicken: After 40 minutes to crisp the chicken, then the BBQ sauce is applied. Flip the chicken over, presentation side down, and dab only the backside with BBQ sauce. Place back into the oven for about 5 minutes. This will tack up the BBQ sauce while crisping up the presentation in leftover fat in the pan. Dab again with BBQ sauce and flip over to brush the presentation side with BBQ sauce and back in the oven for 5 minutes. Brush the top again and back in for 5 minutes or thereabouts. Remove and let rest before serving. You can optionally broil to get a really hardened tack and char when applying the BBQ sauce for lacquering. Keep it at 400°F for glazed BBQ chicken.
Notes
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