Sprig Originals's kitchen / Air Fryer Smoky Brown Sugar BBQ Chicken Thighs
Air Fryer Smoky Brown Sugar BBQ Chicken Thighs
By Sprig Originals · cooked up in Sprig
Worked out from this recipe's ingredients. If you're cooking for an allergy, always read the full ingredient list.
Bone-in thighs go into one air fryer basket with a sweet-smoky pantry rub and come out with shatter-crisp skin and juicy meat, then get a quick brush of barbecue sauce that sets sticky in the last three minutes. Eight ingredients, one basket, no oven and no mess on the stovetop.
Ingredients
Chicken and Rub
- 6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 2 1/4 lb)
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp light brown sugar
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Finish
- 1/3 cup barbecue sauce
Instructions
- Pat the chicken thighs very dry with paper towels — dry skin is what crisps. Rub them all over with the oil.
- Stir the brown sugar, smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper together in a small bowl, then rub the mixture over both sides of each thigh, getting a little under the skin where you can.
- Preheat the air fryer to 400°F for 3 minutes. Arrange the thighs skin side DOWN in a single layer in the basket, leaving a little space between them (cook in two batches if your basket is small). Air fry 12 minutes.
- Flip the thighs skin side up with tongs and air fry another 10 minutes, until the skin is deep golden and crisp and a thermometer in the thickest part reads 185°F (thighs are best well past 165°F).
- Brush the tops generously with the barbecue sauce and air fry 3 minutes more, until the glaze is tacky and lightly bubbling at the edges. Rest 5 minutes in the basket before serving.
Chef's tips
- Don't skip drying the chicken or crowding the basket — steam is the enemy of crisp skin. Two smaller batches beat one packed one.
- Hold the barbecue sauce until the final 3 minutes. Added early, the sugars scorch and turn bitter in the air fryer's fast-moving heat.
- Boneless skinless thighs work too: same rub and temperature, 8 minutes per side, then 2 minutes with sauce.
- Line nothing under the chicken while it cooks skin-side-down — you want the rendering fat to drip away. Wipe the drawer while the thighs rest.
Nutrition (per serving, estimated)
541calories
37gprotein
23gcarbs
28gfat
Estimates only — values vary with brands and portions.
Made with Sprig
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