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If you are looking for a chicken dinner that feels a little elevated without becoming a complicated weekend project, these Grilled Glazed Chicken Thighs on the Big Green Egg are a fantastic option.
Chicken thighs are one of the most forgiving proteins you can cook on the Big Green Egg. They stay juicy, handle high heat beautifully, and develop incredible flavor over live fire. Add a sticky glaze and you have a meal that feels restaurant-worthy with surprisingly little effort.
What makes this dish stand out is the combination of smoky grilled chicken and crispy polenta cakes. The chicken brings bold, caramelized flavor while the polenta adds a rich, crispy base that turns a simple grilled dinner into something much more memorable.
This is the kind of Big Green Egg recipe that works just as well for a casual weeknight dinner as it does when you want to impress guests without spending all day cooking.
Table of Contents
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Gathering the Ingredients
This recipe keeps things simple but delivers big flavor.
The stars of the cook are bone-in chicken thighs, your favorite glaze or hot sauce, and prepared couscous that will be formed into crispy cakes.
Chicken thighs are the right choice here. They stay juicy on the Big Green Egg, develop beautiful crispy skin, and handle bold glaze flavors without drying out.
To round out the dish, grab a few pantry basics for seasoning and oil for grilling and crisping the couscous.
Simple ingredients. Big payoff.
Making the Glaze
In a small saucepan, combine your favorite hot sauce with butter over medium heat. Let the mixture simmer gently until it reduces by about half.
As the glaze cooks down, it becomes thicker, richer, and perfectly balanced between heat, sweetness, and buttery richness.
You want a glaze that will cling to the chicken instead of running right off. Set it aside while you prep the rest of the cook.
Prepping the Chicken
Start by trimming the chicken thighs as needed and patting them dry with paper towels. Dry skin is the key to getting good color and crisp texture on the Big Green Egg. Season the chicken thighs generously with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper on both sides. Let the chicken sit at room temperature while the Big Green Egg comes up to temperature.
Big Green Egg Setup
Set up your Big Green Egg for raised direct cooking and preheat the dome temperature to 400°F. Raised direct is ideal here because it gives you enough heat to crisp the skin without immediately burning the glaze later in the cook. Make sure your cooking grate is clean and lightly oiled before adding the chicken.
Cooking and Glazing the Chicken
Place the chicken thighs on the Big Green Egg skin side down and let them cook until the fat begins to render and the skin becomes golden brown and crispy.
Once the skin looks great, flip the chicken and begin brushing on the hot sauce butter glaze. Continue cooking, glazing in layers as the chicken finishes cooking. This builds a sticky, flavorful coating while allowing the chicken to stay juicy underneath.
Cook until the chicken reaches 175°F to 185°F internal temperature for the best texture with thighs.
Making the Couscous Cakes
While the chicken cooks, prepare the couscous cakes. Cook the couscous in chicken stock instead of water for extra flavor. Add a little butter along with salt and pepper while it cooks. Once the couscous is tender, spread it out and let it cool to room temperature. This step matters. Warm couscous will not hold together properly.
Once cooled, transfer the couscous to a mixing bowl and add 1 egg, chopped green onion, and grated Parmesan cheese. Mix everything until fully combined, then form the mixture into evenly sized patties.
Heat a cast iron skillet on the Big Green Egg and lightly oil the surface. Cook the couscous cakes until golden brown and crispy on both sides. These add a rich, crispy base that pairs perfectly with the glazed chicken.
Plating and Serving Suggestions
To build the dish, start with the crispy couscous cakes as the base. Top them with a simple arugula salad tossed with blue cheese and a light Dijon vinaigrette. The peppery greens help balance the richness of the chicken and couscous. Next, add thin slices of fresh pear for a little sweetness and texture. Finish by placing the glazed chicken thighs right on top.
This is one of those Big Green Egg meals that feels far more impressive than the effort required. You get crispy texture, smoky grilled chicken, a little heat from the glaze, and bright fresh flavors to tie everything together. This is absolutely dinner party worthy, but easy enough for a weeknight cook.
Grilled Glazed Chicken Thighs on the Big Green Egg
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
For the Glaze
- 1/2 cup hot sauce
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
For the Couscous Cakes
- 1 cup couscous
- 1 1/4 cups chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 large egg
- 2 green onions, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
For the Salad
- 3 cups baby arugula
- 1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese
- 1 ripe pear, thinly sliced
Dijon Vinaigrette
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon honey
- pinch kosher salt
- pinch black pepper
Instructions
- Set up your Big Green Egg for raised direct cooking. Preheat the dome temperature to 400°F.
- Pat the chicken thighs dry with paper towels. Season both sides with kosher salt and black pepper.
- Add the hot sauce and butter to a small saucepan. Simmer over medium heat until reduced by about half.
- Remove from heat and set aside.
- Bring the chicken stock, butter, salt, and pepper to a boil. Stir in the couscous.
- Remove from heat, cover, and let sit until tender.
- Spread the couscous out and cool to room temperature.
- Transfer cooled couscous to a bowl.
- Add the egg, chopped green onions, and Parmesan cheese.
- Mix until fully combined. Form into 4 evenly sized patties.
- Place the chicken thighs skin side down on the Big Green Egg.
- Cook until the fat renders and the skin becomes crispy. Flip the chicken.
- Begin brushing with the hot sauce butter glaze. Continue cooking and glazing in layers.
- Cook until the internal temperature reaches 175°F–185°F. Remove and rest.
- Heat a cast iron skillet on the Big Green Egg. Add olive oil.
- Cook the couscous cakes until golden brown and crispy. Flip and repeat.
- Whisk together olive oil, Dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, honey, salt, and pepper.
- Toss the arugula with the vinaigrette. Add the blue cheese.
- Place the couscous cakes on serving plates.
- Top with the dressed arugula salad. Add thinly sliced pear.
- Top with the glazed chicken thighs. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Chicken thighs are best cooked hotter than breast meat. Aim for 175°F+ for best texture.
- Let the couscous cool completely before forming patties.
- Any favorite hot sauce works here.
- This also works beautifully with boneless chicken thighs.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Love this sauce great on chicken fried seafood and much more. I even put it on my cereal!
It is so good!