This is a basic technique for grilling chicken thighs that I use when cooking on my Weber gas grill.  The approach will be the same whether you are cooking on a full sized Genesis or a small Weber Q.

Prepare the Thighs For the Grill

I usually like to brine chicken thighs before grilling but the step isn’t really needed and I will skip it for a weeknight cook.  Thighs will turn out great without brining as long as you do not overcook them. 

I take the chicken out of the package and trim off the trim the excess fat and skin. 

Taking the extra fat and skin off the thighs is going to help reduce flareups.  You will be glad that you took the time to do this step!

I season the thighs with a salt and pepper.  These are going to be cooked over high heat and I don’t like to mess around with fancy dry rub recipes where the sugars and other spices end up burnt and scorched.

Don’t worry…we will pack on more flavor as we grill!

 

Grill the Chicken Thighs

I leave the thighs on the counter while I heat the Weber on high for 10-15 minutes.  I want my grill super hot and I want the chicken to have warmed to something close to room temperature.  The basic strategy is as follows:  Warm food on a hot grill releases easy when it is time to flip.  Cold food sticks when placed on a warm grill.

I place the thighs on the grill skin side up, close the lid and then set the gas to “Low” on all three burners.    

As the fat starts to drip out from the thighs and onto the Flavorizer bars there will be a lot of smoke.  That’s okay!  Wait five minutes then open the lid and flip the chicken so the skin side is down. 

You are going to have to pay attention at this point.  Most of the fat in the thighs is directly under the skin.  As soon as you flip skin side down the possibility of a flare up is very real. After about a minute take a peak and see how things are looking. 

If you have some flare ups move the chicken to a different part of the grill.

You are going to be flipping the chicken about every five minutes to get both sides to cook evenly and prevent burning.  The flipping is also a chance to move the chicken to a different part of the grill and away from any flare ups. 

Here is what mine looked like after 20 minutes.  The skin is starting to crisp up and the underside is a beautiful golden brown.  A quick check with the digital thermometer showed the chicken wasn’t quite done.

After the skin has started to crisp up it is time to start adding more flavor to the chicken.  Start basting the thighs with Italian dressing every time you flip them.  

You will get a little flareup when the Italian dressing runs off and hits the burner but that’s okay.

After thirty minutes start checking the internal temperature of the meat.  The thighs are safe to eat at 165F but are more tender when they hit 175-180F. 

The main feature of this technique is your active management of the grill.  This is GREAT if you want to spend some time playing with fire and being busy with a grill. 

These thighs are great for a weeknight meal!  If you want instruction on how to cook them on a charcoal grill then check out this post: How to Grill Chicken Thighs on a Weber Charcoal Grill.