Baked BBQ Chicken
Chicken drumsticks and thighs marinated in lemon, thyme, cumin and butter, finished with BBQ sauce caramelized under the oven's top heat.
- 3 kg (6.6 lb) chicken drumsticks and thighs
- 4 lemons
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp pepper
- 2 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- Butter
- Salt
- BBQ sauce
-
1
Squeeze the lemons
Thaw the chicken if needed. Squeeze the juice of the 4 lemons into a large bowl.
-
2
Make the marinade
Add the thyme, pepper, cumin, garlic powder and salt to the bowl. Mix to make the marinade.
-
3
Prep the chicken
Prep the chicken by removing the middle bones (or have the butcher do it). Pat dry with a paper towel to remove moisture. Salt both sides.
-
4
Brush with butter
Place all the chicken on a baking tray with a rack. Melt about 2 finger-widths of butter and brush it over all the chicken.
-
5
Add the marinade
Pour the marinade over each thigh and drumstick. If you'd like, place the squeezed lemons on top.
-
6
First bake (covered)
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) on convection mode. Bake for 30 min. Take it out of the oven, remove the lemons, cover with foil, and put it back in the oven.
-
7
Glaze with BBQ sauce
Raise the temperature to 200°C (390°F) with top and bottom heat. Cook ~1 more hour. Remove the foil, apply BBQ sauce, and put it back in the oven for 10 to 15 min with only the top heat on, until browned. To make sure it's fully cooked, poke the thickest part near the bone: the juices should run clear, with no pink at all.
- The foil keeps the skin from burning while it finishes cooking.
- The top heat at the end is what caramelizes the BBQ sauce.
- It comes out extremely juicy thanks to the long cook time at a moderate temperature.
- If you have a kitchen thermometer, the thickest part near the bone should reach 74°C (165°F).