It’s Fourth of July weekend! It seems crazy that this year is already halfway over, but with how this year has gone, maybe that isn’t such a bad thing. With baby #4 due in less than 11 weeks, we are ready and excited for what the rest of the year will bring. We love a good reason to have a summer BBQ here, and these BBQ chicken legs are the best. They use my homemade BBQ sauce recipe and are great on the grill or in the oven. Options like that are perfect for us because while I always love when Kevin grills, sometimes he’s not home from work in time. Either way, they are delicious and you will want to put this homemade BBQ sauce on everything!
These BBQ chicken legs are so easy, you can even add them to your 4th of July menu last minute. The BBQ sauce is easy to make, and the chicken legs are hands-off (except for some basting) once they go on the oven or in the grill. When you look at the recipe below, don’t be intimidated by the list of ingredients to make the homemade BBQ sauce! There are quite a few ingredients to make it perfect, but I think you’ll find that you already have a lot of them on hand. Serve this alongside my Italian chopped pasta salad or bacon jalapeno gorgonzola potato salad, add some corn on the cob or watermelon, and you’ve got a great summer meal.
I hope you enjoy your holiday weekend! If these BBQ chicken legs don’t make your menu for this weekend, I hope you plan to make them soon! They’re easy enough for a weeknight but also great for entertaining too.
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- ½ yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup ketchup
- ¼ cup molasses
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tbsp. yellow mustard
- 2 tsp. smoked paprika
- ½ tsp. chili powder
- ¼ tsp. ground black pepper
- Few dashes of hot sauce
- Salt to taste
- 10-12 chicken legs, patted dry with paper towels
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. If using the grill, heat to 500 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan. Add onion and garlic and cook until tender.
- Add ketchup, molasses, vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, smoked paprika, chili powder, black pepper, and hot sauce. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes. Taste and add salt as needed.
- If using the oven, spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and place chicken in the pan. Spread with about half of the BBQ sauce and bake for 40-45 minutes until the internal temperature reads 165 degrees Fahrenheit, basting about ever 15 minutes with additional BBQ sauce.
- If using the grill, grease the grill grates. Place the chicken in a large ziplock bag or in a baking dish and coat with about half the BBQ sauce. Grill for about 30 minutes, flipping over halfway into cooking time and basting with additional BBQ sauce. Remove from grill when internal temperature reads 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Serve immediately with additional BBQ sauce. Enjoy!
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