Name: Sticky Barbecue Chicken
Yield: 8–10 servings
Ingredients: ¼ cup smoked paprika; 2 Tbsp. light brown sugar; 2 tsp. chili powder; 2 tsp. garlic powder; 1½ tsp. cayenne pepper; 12 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs (about 4 lb.); Zest and juice of 2 lemons; 4 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 2½ tsp. Morton kosher salt; 5 Tbsp. Barbecue Seasoning, divided; 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil, plus more for grill; 1 small onion, finely chopped; 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped; 2 Tbsp. light brown sugar; ¾ cup ketchup; 2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar; 2 Tbsp. unsulfured blackstrap molasses; 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard; 1 Tbsp. Louisiana hot sauce; 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

Photographs by Mamadi Doumbouya, food styling by Pearl Jones, prop styling by Shannon Maldonado

Kurt Evans, culinary director at Drive Change, marinates his chicken in advance to ensure it won’t dry out on the grill, then he bastes it with sauce at the end for the crackliest, stickiest skin. Evans’s homemade barbecue sauce contains just a touch of blackstrap molasses: a rich, dark flavor brought by African American migrants from the Deep South. They used to make it on their rural homesteads from homegrown sugarcane during the time of the Great Migration.

Recipe notes

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