This Huli Huli Chicken recipe is perfect for any night of the week. It consists of tender chicken thighs grilled to perfection and basted in a sweet and savory Hawaiian huli huli sauce.
Huli Huli Chicken Recipe
Pineapple and chicken are a match made in heaven, and if you’ve never tried this combination, it’s time to change that! This huli huli chicken is bursting with flavor from the sweet, sticky sauce and char from the grill. It’s not just a dish for summer!
I make chicken thighs often because we all love them in our house. So, it can feel boring if you don’t switch up how you cook and season them often. This is one of my all-time favorites, and my kiddos certainly agree! The expertly balanced sauce adds bold flavor to the Hawaiian chicken, even if you decide to pan-sear it in the kitchen.
What does “Huli Huli” mean?
“Huli” is a Hawaiian word that means “turn.” Traditional grilled huli huli chicken is a grilled dish that is cooked over mesquite wood for a smokey flavor. It’s turned often and basted with huli huli sauce, hence its name. The huli huli sauce is a sweet and savory sauce made of pineapple, ketchup, soy sauce, and sesame oil. It tastes similar to teriyaki sauce.
Why You’ll Love This Huli Huli Chicken
- Perfect to prepare ahead. Since the chicken needs time to marinate, this is the perfect meal to prepare and plan ahead of time.
- Versatile recipe. You can add and omit ingredients to the sauce according to your tastes.
- Great for a barbecue. This is a great food to serve at a family barbecue.
Recipe Ingredients
Hulu huli chicken calls for easy-to-find ingredients that can be used for other Hawaiian or Asian recipes. The only ingredient that every grocery store might not have is aji-mirin but it is not expensive.
- Chicken thighs: For this recipe, I prefer boneless skinless chicken thighs instead of bone-in chicken thighs. They cook evenly without the bone, and you can skip worrying about crispy skin.
- Pineapple rings and juice: The pineapple juice goes in the marinade and the pineapple rings are grilled separately. I don’t recommend using fresh pineapple juice because it over-tenderizes the chicken.
- Ginger and garlic: These two ingredients add great depth of flavor to the huli huli sauce.
- Sauces: This recipe calls for ketchup, soy sauce, and sriracha. If the sauce is too salty, substitute low-sodium soy sauce for the soy sauce.
- Aji-Mirin: This is a type of mirin that doesn’t have the same alcohol content that “real” mirin has.
- Brown sugar: Brown sugar adds sweetness to balance the sauce and thickens it to help it glaze the chicken as it cooks.
- Rice vinegar: This is a mild flavored vinegar that is added to help the chicken become tender. You can substitute with apple cider vinegar, just adjust the amount you use to suit your taste.
- Sesame oil: The addition of sesame oil adds a nutty flavor. It’s very strong so I don’t recommend adding more than the recipe needs.
How to Make Huli Huli Chicken
You don’t need to be a grillmaster to make fantastic food like this huli huli chicken recipe on the grill. It’s super easy and we provide the steps you need to be successful.
- Make the marinade. Combine all of the ingredients except the chicken and pineapple rings in a large bowl. Whisk until well mixed.
- Add the chicken and refrigerate. Add the chicken thighs and toss to coat them evenly in the marinade. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator for 24-48 hours.
- Grease the grill. Use vegetable oil to grease the grill grates.
- Preheat the grill. After marinating, light the grill and preheat it to medium-high heat.
- Add the thighs and cook. Place the chicken thighs onto the grill with tongs. Close the lid and cook the chicken for about 3-4 minutes.
- Flip. Once the thighs no longer stick, flip them and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Baste and cook. With a basting brush, generously baste the chicken thighs with the marinade. Flip them and cook for 1 minute.
- Repeat. Baste and flip them again and cook for 1 more minute.
- Transfer to rest. Place the cooked huli huli chicken on a plate and cover with foil to rest.
- Grill the pineapple. Add the pineapple rings to the grill and cook each side for a couple of minutes.
- Serve. Enjoy the huli huli chicken and pineapple alone or with white rice and a garnish of green onions. your favorite side dish.
Tips and Variations
- Check with a thermometer. If you are unsure if the chicken thighs are fully cooked, test them with a thermometer. It should read 165 degrees F for safety.
- Let it rest long enough. Allow the chicken to rest long enough so the juices don’t run out when you slice it. I recommend about 10 minutes.
- Add some heat. Some huli huli chicken recipes include red pepper flakes for spicy flavor. You can also add more sriracha if you wish.
- Don’t add more sauce when it’s done. The marinade has come into contact with raw chicken so dispose of any reserved marinade after it comes off the grill.
Storage Directions
This recipe for huli huli chicken stays fresh in the fridge for up to 3-4 days in an airtight container. Reheat it in the oven at 350 degrees F on a lined sheet pan for 5-10 minutes or until warm.
Store leftovers in the freezer in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 3 months. Be sure to thaw the huli huli chicken in the refrigerator before heating it.
More Grilled Recipes to Try
- Chicken Skewers
- Hobo Dinner Foil Packets
- Carne Asada
- Grilled Sausage Foil Packets
- Spicy Bourbon BBQ Steak Kabobs
Huli Huli Chicken
Ingredients
- 2-3 pounds skinless boneless chicken thighs
- 2-3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
Marinade
- 1 20 ounce can pineapple rings
- ¾ cup juice from the sliced pineapple rings DO NOT USE FRESH AS IT WILL OVER TENDORIZE THE MEAT.
- 1 ½ Tablespoons minced ginger
- 1 ½ Tablespoons minced garlic
- ½ cup ketchup
- ½ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup AJI-Mirin Sweet Cooking Rice Seasoning
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Sriracha
- 2 Tablespoons Rice Vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon toasted Sesame Oil
Instructions
- Mix the marinade ingredients in a large bowl. Reserve 1 cup of the marinade for basting while grilling.
- Add the chicken thighs and push them into the marinade.
- Cover the bowl with plastic and refrigerate for 24-48 hours.
- Once marinated and ready to cook. Use a basting brush or a paper towel to grease the grates with the vegetable oil.
- Light the grill and preheat to medium-high heat.
- Using a tongs, place chicken thighs on the grates and shut the lid.
- Cook for 3-4 minutes or until you try to lift the chicken it no longer sticks to the grates.
- Flip the chicken and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Baste the chicken liberally with the marinade and flip the chicken and cook for another minute.
- Baste the chicken again and flip for another minute or so.
- The chicken is done with a thermometer reads 165 degrees.
- Transfer the chicken to a plate and cover with foil to rest for a few minutes before serving.
- Take the pineapple rings and place them on the grill for a few minutes and flip again. Serve alongside the chicken.
Last Step:
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4 comments on “Huli Huli Chicken”
When do you add brown sugar and other stuff
Hi Dani. Those ingredients go in the marinade. The exact recipe instructions are in the recipe card near the bottom of the page.
This looks delicious and I plan to make it later this week. However, I think there’s a typo in the body of the recipe; in the instructions it states, “The chicken is done (when) a thermometer reads 150 degrees.” In the blog sections it states that chicken should be cooked to 165 degrees, and that’s correct. Chicken isn’t thoroughly cooked at 150 degrees and may indeed be dangerous to consume. — Thanks for reading.
Thanks so much for letting me know this Stephanie. Yes, that was a typo and I just fixed it.