Recipe Details - OnlineCook

April 29, 2025

While her native South Carolina is known for mustard-based barbecue, food writer Amethyst Ganaway especially loves sticky sweet and spicy chicken with a molasses and tomato sauce. And because she’s not always game for firing up the grill, she figured out a way to make her favorite chicken in the oven, with barbecue sauce just the way she likes it. It’s a meal with a lot less mess and work than the typical southern cookout, but all the flavor. The recipe is a Yummly original created by Amethyst Ganaway.

14 Ingredients

From the Cook

1/2

Smoky Spicy Molasses BBQ Chicken

OnlineCook

Ingredients

Servings

Warning0 allergens identified

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°. In a small saucepan, mix ketchup, molasses, vinegar, honey, brown sugar, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, the cayenne, paprika, and ¼ teaspoon garlic powder. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until flavors have melded together and sauce thickens, 15-20 minutes. Remove sauce from heat and set aside.

Meanwhile, place chicken in a baking or roasting dish about 9x13 inches, and coat with oil. In a small bowl, combine remaining 1 tablespoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, and ½ teaspoon garlic powder with the onion powder and mustard. Sprinkle all over chicken. Arrange chicken skin side down and bake for 15 minutes.

Using a pastry brush or silicone brush, coat the top side of the chicken with a bit of the bbq sauce, using about one-quarter of it, so that pieces are covered well. Cook skin side down for an additional 15 minutes.

Flip chicken so the skin side is up, and coat each piece well with some bbq sauce. Increase the oven to 400°. Every 5-8 minutes, coat chicken with more of the sauce to your desired thickness (I do about 4 coats). Increase oven temperature to 500° or use your top broiler option. Finish cooking chicken until the sauce is thick, the chicken has some char, and the meat reaches 165° in the thickest part. Cooking time should be about 1 hour total.

Smart Nutrition

Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

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Tips & Tricks (5)

Molasses Caramelization Trick 🍯
Brush the BBQ sauce in layers during the last 15-20 minutes of cooking to prevent burning and create a perfectly sticky, caramelized exterior.
Balanced Spice Blend 🌶️
Toast your dry spices like paprika and cayenne in a dry skillet for 30-60 seconds before mixing into the sauce to unlock deeper, more complex flavor profiles.
Marinade Magic 💦
For maximum flavor penetration, marinate the chicken in half the BBQ sauce mixture for 2-4 hours before cooking, reserving the other half for basting.
Moisture Retention Technique 🔒
Cover the chicken with aluminum foil for the first half of cooking to lock in moisture, then uncover to allow the sauce to caramelize and develop a beautiful char.
Vinegar Balance Hack 🍶
If your sauce tastes too sweet, add an extra splash of apple cider vinegar to brighten the flavors and cut through the richness of the molasses and brown sugar.