Asian BBQ Chicken Thighs

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Asian BBQ Chicken Thighs are a must for your instant pot. Making a homemade sauce makes a big difference here too. It is a delicious must do!

Asian BBQ Chicken Thighs are a really tasty way to use that Electric Pressure Cooker! Just like our BABY BACK RIBS or our ROSEMARY BEEF STEW, these Chicken thighs, will make you look as if you cooked all day long!

The chicken thigh is probably the most underrated cut of the old chicken. Everybody loves chicken wings and let’s face it, for that small amount of meat on those wings, they are waaaaayyy over priced! The thigh though, y’all…they are full of luscious dark meat, the most flavorful part of the chicken. What is even better, the price on them is insanely cheap! You can buy a family pack of thighs for about the same cost as the whole chicken. Use what you need and then freeze the rest for later! Any smart shopper will agree that is a Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!

The Asian Flavor Profile

I chose my Asian flavor profile for a reason. BBQ in the south is a staple. Almost everyone I know has their own recipe for their special BBQ sauce. The Buttered Home family loves the richness of soy sauces combined with the sweet of honey and pineapple juices. This combination is popular in Asian BBQ and brings a tangy sweet to almost any protein. Feel free to use your secret family recipe for sauce here but I challenge you to try this Asian sauce recipe at least once. I bet you’ll be hooked!

How to Make them

1-2 pounds of chicken thighs( 15 min for thaw, 30 min for frozen in the IP)
½ cup water
½ cup pineapple juice
½ cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

You simply salt and pepper your chicken and place with water in the IP.

Mix all of the other ingredients with a whisk until sugar is dissolved. Pour over chicken and water in the IP.

Set to Manual or Pressure cook for 15 minutes. I let mine natural pressure release(NPR) for about 8-10 minutes, relieve what is left of pressure and remove the chicken from the IP. I leave the cooking liquid in and put my chicken to rest on a foil lined pan.

thighs on a sheet pan about to go under broiler

Heat the broiler in the oven to get ready to crisp the skin up on the thighs. While the oven is heating, set the cooking liquid in the IP to saute’ . Bring to a boil, stirring often as it cooks down to a sauce, 5 to 15 minutes depending on how thick you want it. Baste the thighs with the sauce and cook under the broiler for 5 minutes on each side, basting each time. Reserve the rest of the sauce for dipping.

thighs on a sheet pan that have been broiled

Tips and Tricks

Can I use another sauce recipe or premade?

Feel free to use any other sauce, just make sure when using the IP, you add that ½ cup of water to insure the IP comes up to pressure. The sauce itself is liquid but the small amount of water will make sure you don’t get the dreaded BURN message and adds moisture to the chicken.

Can you use other cuts of chicken?

Yes. Any bone in chicken can be done just like this. Cooking times in the instant pot are a marvel and if you decide to use boneless, just cut the cooking time in half.

Do you have to broil them?

No, the chicken is fully cooked in the instant pot. The broiler is only just to crisp the skin. If you don't have to have that, leave that step out.

We like these wings served with Rice and our Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Onions, Broccoli and Asparagus. You can whip up this meal on a week night and become the domestic goddess your family already thinks you are!

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Enjoy!