Grilled Huli Huli Chicken
Grilled Huli Huli Chicken will transport your taste buds to the tropical islands! Chicken thighs are marinated with pineapple, soy sauce, and brown sugar then grilled to perfection.
One of the reasons I love traveling to the islands of Hawaii is to roam around and look for the local cuisine. I love a good shaved ice or pulled pork from a native luau, but I think the most inspiring things can be found in street food. I stumbled across a little cart selling chicken right off the grill, and when I got back home to the Lofthouse I had to come up with my own version of the recipe. My Grilled Huli Huli Chicken is an homage to one of my favorite food memories of Hawaii. Whenever I travel back to my favorite island I go in search of this chicken. This recipe comes in handy on those hot Southern Utah days when I am craving the cool tropical breezes.
GRILLED HULI HULI CHICKEN
This is a great recipe to make during the summer months when the grill is in prime condition. By now you probably have your routine of burgers and hot dogs rotating across the hot grate. It’s time for something a little more fun and festive for those warm months!
This recipe calls for chicken thighs instead of breasts. It’s a traditional cut of meat that brings a whole other layer of tenderness and flavor to the dish. The chicken thighs are mixed together with a marinade consisting of pineapple juice, brown sugar, soy, ketchup, garlic, and chicken broth for a fully complete and balanced flavor profile. After the thighs are marinated, they are cooked on the hot grill. Serve with rice, veggies, and freshly grilled pineapple for the fully aloha experience.
INGREDIENTS
1 cup pineapple juice; this brings a bright note to each piece of chicken. The citrus also helps break down the meat while it’s marinating and will ensure that each bite is tender. Canned pineapple juice will work just fine, or if you have a juicer, juice a freshly sliced pineapple for that layer of freshness.
1 cup packed light brown sugar; this sweetness will balance everything out.
3/4 cup ketchup; this slight acidity of the ketchup will cut through the sweet and salty components of the dish. It is for balance and will not overwhelm the entire flavor of the dish.
3/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce; this is to help keep the sodium levels lower in the dish. If you want to use regular soy sauce, that will work just fine as well.
1/2 cup chicken broth; what’s the best way to enhance any chicken flavored dish? Use chicken broth, or a bullion will deepen the flavor so much. If you want to use vegetable stock as a substitute, that will work here.
3 teaspoons minced fresh ginger; if you’ve never worked with fresh ginger root, you’ll love what it will do to this dish. Just peel the skin off, and mince till it’s finely diced. If you would prefer to use ginger from a jar, that will also work. Avoid using ginger powder, or seasoning, as it won’t give the dish the best flavor.
3 teaspoons minced garlic; garlic makes everything better! I love to mince my own garlic, as the aroma brings everything to life. A pre-minced garlic that you can find in a small jar or tube can work, if you don’t want to mince your own.
24 boneless skinless chicken thighs; this is about 4 pounds of meat. This recipe is meant to be shared! Thighs are the way to get that full authentic experience of the chicken. If you have a picky eater in your family, you can substitute for chicken breasts, but I highly recommend using thighs.
INSTRUCTIONS
In a medium bowl, whisk together juice, brown sugar, ketchup, soy sauce, broth, ginger, and garlic until combined. Reserve 1 cup of marinade for basting. Cover and refrigerate. Divide remaining marinade between two large resealable plastic bags. Add 12 chicken thighs to each; seal bags and turn to coat. Refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight.
Drain and discard marinade from chicken. Moisten a paper towel with cooking oil; using long-handled tongs, lightly coat the grill rack. Grill chicken, covered, over medium heat for 6 to 8 minutes on each side, or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F.; baste occasionally with reserved marinade during the last 5 minutes.
PINEAPPLE
Grilled slices of pineapple for a couple of minutes on either side, so that they get those beautiful marks, and the flavor comes to life! A side of rice, either white or brown, is great on the side. If you are looking for a little pasta side, give my Asian Pasta Salad a try and you’ll love it with the flavorful dark meat of the chicken.
MARINATING TIME
For the most flavorful dish, make sure to marinate for no less than 6 hours. I marinate mine overnight so that the next day everything is ready to go! If you are in a pinch with time, the very least amount of time I would recommend marinating the chicken is 4 hours before grilling.
ENJOY THIS RECIPE? HERE ARE A FEW MORE GRILLED FAVORITES!
Grilled Steak Kebabs – Tender, marinated pieces of steak skewered with freshly diced veggies and grilled.
Grilled Apricot Chicken – The perfect way to sweeten things up this summer! Juicy pieces of chicken thighs grilled with apricot preserves and ready in 30 minutes!
Grilled Cheeseburger Wraps – Too many burgers this summer? There’s no such thing! Try this recipe to switch things up, and still enjoy a juicy burger with all the fixings.
Grilled Cilantro Lime Chicken – Lean chicken breasts grilled with fresh lime juice and cilantro.
Grilled Huli Huli Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 cup pineapple juice
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 3/4 cup ketchup
- 3/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 3 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
- 3 teaspoons minced garlic
- 24 boneless skinless chicken thighs (about 4 pounds) OR 4 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together juice, brown sugar, ketchup, soy sauce, broth, ginger and garlic until combined. *Reserve 1 cup of marinade for basting. Cover and refrigerate.
- Divide remaining marinade between two large resealable plastic bags. Add 12 chicken thighs to each; seal bags and turn to coat. Refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight.
- Drain and discard marinade from chicken. Moisten a paper towel with cooking oil; using long-handled tongs, lightly coat the grill rack.
- Grill chicken, covered, over medium heat for 6 to 8 minutes on each side, or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F.; baste occasionally with reserved marinade during the last 5 minutes.
Notes
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I love all your recipes! Everyone I’ve tried turned out great 🙂 I will be adding this one. Yummy!
Thanks, Kim! You will love this one!
Hi Holly,
I just found your blog several weeks ago and it has changed my family’s life!! Take that, you rude commenters!! Honestly, my kids are just eating more and better every day because of these beautifully presented recipes. I am SOOOO excited to finally be able to make the yummy food that I used to just see at other people’s houses! Anyway, thank you so much for doing this. I am super impressed with the time and energy you put into it. Anyone who feels the need to be rude, well, that’s just sad. There is absolutely no point in it. Anyway, I wasn’t even going to comment because I try not to be too wordy on the internet (oh well! haha!) but I really want to counter anything negative with some positive words! Thank you again! p.s. The shamrock shakes were a HUGE hit!! Have not made this grilled chicken yet but when I do I will come back!
Ha ha! Sarah, thank you so much for your kind comment. And I am so happy you found my blog and loving the recipes. Thank You! xoxo
Holly yummy huli huli Chicken. I grew up in Hawaii and we always had this for special occasions hang in there.
I love huli huli chicken. I will try your recipe the next time I make it. My recipe calls for 1/2 cup frozen pineapple juice concentrate instead of 1/3 cup chicken broth and only 1/2 cup of brown sugar. The rest of the ingredients are the same. Where I live now, I have a hard time finding frozen pineapple juice concentrate. Your recipe sounds like the answer to my problem. Thank you ! I don’t understand why so many people are mean and rude these days. Try not to let it get to you. What you are doing for the rest of us is greatly appreciated.
Hi Patty! I feel so bad because I honestly did forget to add the pineapple juice in the list of ingredients. I feel terrible! But it does call for just the juice, not the frozen concentrate so that should be a lot easier to find. And thanks for your sweet comment! xoxo
Thanks Holly, this is perfect. I have no problem finding regular pineapple juice in a can. Your suggestion to serve the chicken with grilled fresh pineapple is spot on. For adults, I marinade my fresh pineapple slices for one hour in 2 c water, 1/2 cup rum, 1/4 cup dark brown sugar. If children are present, I omit the rum, increase the dark brown sugar to 1/2 cup, and add 1 Tbsp cinnamon. It is good either way.
I think I might add rum for the kids. Then you can stand the against a tree and have a great time! I’m honestly joking, I have grandkids that are the loves of my life. Great Blog and recipes Holly! Thank you!
Hello Holly!
Very upsetting that people feel the need to be so rude!
All that I have to say is that I absolutely LOVE everything that you put up on your blog!
I have been coming to your blog every week now for quite some time. Seriously 90% of my family’s meals comes from your blog. And we have loved every single recipe that I have made!!
So thank you for being you. A mom that likes to cook for her family using easy to re-create recipes with ingredients that aren’t out of this world lol
P.S. This chicken looks amazing!! We will be trying it soon!
I know, it’s hard to come on and read such hateful comments, but ya know, the general questions and kind comments I get from people like you make it all worth it! xoxo
Holly,
I absolutely love your blog – the great recipes, the beautiful photos – you are truly amazing! And now I have another thing to admire: the graceful way you called out the haters! Way to put out an awesome recipe & blog post, and keep it classy! God bless you & your family!
Julie
Julie, thank you so much! xoxo
I know it’s crazy how people feel the need to be so hateful. And I agree, it’s easy to be a jerk behind a computer! lol Thanks for your sweet comment! xoxo
Holly, please don’t take it personal in any way. There can be a story about a couple that just found out they are expecting after trying for 5 years which is a very happy event, however, you would not believe what some people would say to this couple. I just don’t understand it.
Anywho….:) I want to tell you I love your blog, recipes (I have one in the crock pot now), your meal planner. Please continue on. You have a lot of fans!!
Made exactly as stated. Keeper 4 sure. Thankd
Holly, pay no attention to the ars-holes, they probably don’t the cooking from a hole in the ground. I back you and you keep up the great work, keep the recipes coming.
I love all your recipes! Everyone I’ve tried turned out great I will be adding this one. Yummy!
Going to try with wings! Thanks for sharing!!
This sounds amazing! I’m going to try subbing Mango nectar for the pineapple as I’m highly allergic, but I cannot wait to try this and a couple of other recipes I’ve seen on here:) Thanks so much for posting:)
We recently had family bbq and I have a bunch of uncooked chicken thighs and I think your recipe will be just what I ‘m looking for. My mesquite recipe is great but I feel the need for something different and this sounds awesome. Thanks for sharing with us!!!
We only have a charcoal grill and I didn’t feel like messing with it last night, so I cooked this meal in a cast iron skillet. I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts and they were overcooked and tough, and seriously… it was still awesome! This recipe is yummy yummy yummy! Next time I will pound out the chicken. It seems to be the only way I’m capable of getting it cooked through without turning it to rubber.
You are my all-time favorite food blogger! I’ve always loved cooking, but had lost my inspiration until I ran across your site. It’s amazing that you can come up with a recipe so good that I can’t even ruin it with overcooked chicken. =) You rock!
I also want to add to the love and say how terrible it is that people would cuss you out because they didn’t like a recipe. Those people lead a sad existence and I hope you don’t let them get you down. I can’t imagine how tough it must be to read such things. Hang in there, girl. Your recipes are amazing.
Thank you for this recipe. I had the conversation yesterday with my husband that I wish I could find the BBQ recipe for the chicken I had at TED’S on the North Shore and here it is. I’m super excited to give it a go. Thanks again and I’m sharing the recipe and the blog with family and friends.
It looks amazing and yes I would it cuz is different!! I do tend to get in recipe rut my self so always looking for something different!! Great job on photos too!!!
I can not wait to try this. Hubby and I were stationed in Hawaii when we were first married, and we had Huli Huli chicken all the time. I cheated though, and bought the sauce pre made. It is still one of my favorites 30 years later! Thanks for this recipe!!
I have not tried this recipe yet but regardless how it turns out it gives no one grounds to disrespect you. I pray you see those people for exactly who they are and know it has nothing to do with you! I hope you will continue to post recipes. Best regards, Sophia
I made this tonight and it was amazing! I decrease the recipe to 1/4 since I’m just cooking for 2. I also added peppers onions and carrots. It was VERY good. Thank you!
So delish!!!!
I haven’t tried this yet, bit I definitely will. As to the comments issue. My Mama told me if you don’t have anything nice to say. KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT. Just my opinion. Feeling for ya.
Made this recipe about a month ago. Hubby and I love it. I did cut the recipe in half. Getting ready to make it again. Very flavorful. I like to use chicken thighs. Thanks for the great recipe.
This recipe is a big hit with all my friends and family. Last time I made this, I made a batch for around 15 pounds of boneless skinless chicken thighs. At my house we like it when I add a whole seedless diced Jalepeno for one recipe. Just gives it a nice flavor.
Can’t wait to try this recipe! I am Hawaiian and love huli huli chicken. This recipe varies from what is considered traditional huli huli chicken, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t yummy or worth trying. And just a lil fun fact: huli huli means turn turn. Traditionally this chicken is cooked on spinning spits, but it can be grilled, too! Thanks for this recipe! Just got a new grill and can’t wait to throw this on there!
This looks delicious! I will give it a try!
I just tried this recipe for my family and we loved it, I think it’s going to be a favorite.
This recipe is amazing! I had Huli Huli chicken at a restaurant in Waikiki 20 years ago and thought it was the best chicken I’ve ever had. So I was excited when I seen this recipe and I tried it last night using boneless skinless chicken breast. And I had that same feeling that I had in the restaurant. it is amazing! The next time I make it I think I’m going to do it as a shish kabob along with pineapple and onion. But I’m pretty sure it’s going to taste good no matter how I prepare the chicken
I love your blog and every recipe I have cooked has been good the first time takes a little longer because of the first time no one should cuss at you and put you down but someone should be able to leave a negative comment regarding the recipe and that is where you come in with suggestions
Them the rest of us can see what their issues were and comment on the recipe that’s how we all learn the tricks of the recipe