Honey BBQ Beer Chicken Skewers

Grilled chicken skewers glazed with sauce, served with a bowl of honey and a honey dipper, garnished with fresh cilantro and a slice of lime.

5 from 1 vote

Honey BBQ Beer Chicken Skewers

Impress your family and friends with these scrumptious skewers!🍯🍗🍺 A simple marinade transforms chicken into tender, juicy bites that are sticky, sweet, smoky, and savory! PERFECT for casual summer dinners and backyard barbecues. Outdoor grilling, indoor grill pan, and oven-baking options provided.

Prep Time10

Cook Time8

Marinating Time1

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Keyword: bbq, bbq chicken, chicken, Honey BBQ Beer Chicken Skewers

Servings:

Calories: 222cal

Equipment

Ingredients

1 ½ cups BBQ sauce + more for dipping if desired
12- ounces beer (bottle or can, any type; use apple cider or ginger ale as a sweeter beer substitute or reduced sodium beef broth as a more savory substitute)
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce (chili garlic sauce or another chili sauce may be substituted)
3 to 5 cloves garlic finely minced
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard grainy brown mustard or your favorite mustard may be substituted
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon smoked paprika regular paprika may be substituted
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts diced into 2-inch pieces (boneless skinless chicken thighs may be substituted; you can also leave the chicken whole rather than making skewers)
fresh cilantro finely minced; optional for garnishing (or try fresh basil, parsley, mint, etc.)
lime wedges; optional for serving or lemon wedges

Instructions

Marinade - To a large bowl, add the bbq sauces, beer, honey, sweet chili sauce, garlic, mustard, salt, smoked paprika, pepper, and whisk to combine. Remove and reserve 1/2 cup of the marinade.
Add the diced chicken to the large bowl of marinade, toss well to combine, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate to marinate for at least 1 hour, or up to 8 hours.
Preheat your grill to medium-high or your grill pan over medium-high heat on the stove.
If you're going to bake the chicken, transfer the chicken pieces to a greased 9x13-inch baking dish or sheet pan lined with foil (discard the marinade in the bowl), and bake uncovered in a 400F preheated oven for about 20 minutes, or until the chicken is done. Keep an eye on it to prevent burning and toss and flip once midway through baking.
Skewer - While your grill is preheating, thread 5-7pieces of chicken onto each skewer. Tip - If using wooded skewers soak them in hot water for 30 minutes before threading the chicken.
Grill - Place the chicken skewers on the grill or grill pan, and turn them every 2-3 minutes, for about 8-10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through with an internal temperature of 165°F. Chicken will probably cook faster on an outdoor grill than on a grill pan.
Flipping/Sticking Tip – If the chicken is sticking and doesn't want to flip, give in another 1-2 minutes. When protein is closer to being done, it will flip/release easier than when it's raw.
Cooking Tips – Because all grills vary, temperatures vary, the thickness of the chicken varies, etc. grill your chicken for as long as necessary, until it's done. The minutes per side are just estimates, but you need to watch your chicken, not the clock.
Baste and Rest - Remove the chicken from the grill or grill pan and baste them with the reserved marinade.
Allow the chicken to rest for 5-10 minutes to lock in the juices before optionally garnishing with cilantro or other fresh herbs; sprinkle red pepper flakes for more heat, and/or add salt and pepper to taste, and serve with lime/lemon wedges, and any additional reserved marinade or bbq sauce.

Notes

Nutrition Stats: Not every drop of the marinade will be used and that’s where a large portion of the calories/fat are coming from (bbq sauce, beer, honey) so in a practical sense, the caloric and fat consumption will be less than indicated.

Storage: Leftovers will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Reheat in the microwave for about 30 seconds, or as desired.

Nutrition