Last Updated on August 8, 2025 by Carne Diem
Protein: 
Origin: Taste of the Islands, Hawaiian
Method: Grill
Jump to RecipeGet ready to transport your taste buds straight to the sunny shores of Hawaii with this incredible Charcoal Grilled Huli Huli Chicken recipe! If you've never experienced the magic of Huli Huli chicken, you're in for a treat. This iconic Hawaiian chicken dish is famous for its sweet, savory, and tangy glaze, traditionally cooked over an open fire, giving it a unique smoky flavor that's simply irresistible.
Table of contents
Grill Up a Taste of Paradise: Charcoal Grilled Huli Huli Chicken!
The good news is you can achieve a truly spectacular grilled Huli Huli chicken right on your backyard charcoal grill (or even a gas grill!). The key is that delicious marinade, which transforms ordinary chicken into juicy, flavorful bites that are a huge hit with the whole family. This isn't just any chicken recipe; it's a star recipe in my families collection of favorite recipes. These grilled Huli Huli Chicken thighs are tender, smoky, and delicious and the perfect grilled dinner that the entire family will love.
The "Huli Huli" Tradition: What is Huli Huli Chicken
"Huli" means "to turn" in Hawaiian. So, "Huli Huli" literally means "turn turn"! Traditionally, the chicken would be constantly turned over the fire. Basting frequently on the grill mimics this.
Why This Huli Huli Chicken Recipe is a Must-Try
- Unforgettable Flavor: The Huli Huli sauce creates such amazing flavor - a perfect combination of sweet from brown sugar and pineapple juice, savory from Tamari sauce, and a touch of tang from rice vinegar.
- Juicy & Tender: Our method ensures perfectly juicy chicken thighs every time.
- Crowd-Pleaser: This grilled chicken is always a huge hit at backyard BBQs and family dinners.
- That Smoky Kiss: Cooking it on a charcoal grill adds an authentic smoky depth that truly elevates this Hawaiian Huli Huli chicken.
How to Make Grilled Huli Huli Chicken Thighs at Home
The original recipe traditionally uses a whole chicken or chicken halves, but for ease and quicker cooking, I often opt for boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Dark meat, like boneless chicken thighs, tends to stay juicier, and is less prone to drying out, but you can substitute white meat, like chicken breasts, or use bone in chicken cuts if you want to.
Ingredients You'll Need to make the Hawaiian Grilled Chicken
Making Huli Huli chicken at home requires just a handful of common ingredients. Here is what you will need.
Chicken: You will need about 2-3 lbs chicken pieces, or about 12 chicken thighs to make 6 servings of the Huli Huli chicken.
For the Huli Huli Sauce (Chicken Marinade & Basting Sauce):
Pineapple Juice: Pineapple juice provides the sweet, tropical backbone of the sauce. We typically use the juice from canned pineapple rings and then grill the pineapple rings as a side for the dish.
Tamari Style Soy Sauce: Tamari is a Japanese soy sauce that is gluten free. It typically has a smoother and more umami flavor profile and is slightly less salty that traditional soy sauce. If desired, you can substitute other types of soy sauce.
Dark Brown Sugar: Brown sugar provides more sweetness and provides that iconic shine of the chicken glaze.
Ketchup: Ketchup also provides a little sweetness and some color to the Huli Huli sauce.
Aromatics: Minced fresh ginger root and garlic cloves provide the aromatics for the sauce.
Rice Vinegar: Rice vinegar can be found in most Asian sections of the grocery store and provides the acidity and tang to the sauce. If desired you can substitute white vinegar or apple cider vinegar.
Chicken Bouillon: A bit of chicken bouillon or broth base, adds a little depth of flavor to the sauce.
Spices and seasonings: Smoked Paprika adds some color and a mild heat to the glaze and then you will want to add salt and pepper to taste.
Optional for Serving: Fresh pineapple slices, green onions (chopped), sesame seeds.
Step by Step Instructions for Making Huli Huli Chicken at Home
To make the homemade Huli Huli chicken you will just need to make the marinade and marinate the chicken overnight, then grill the chicken thighs.
Whisk the Marinade: In a medium bowl, whisk together all the sauce ingredients until the brown sugar is dissolved. This is your delicious marinade!
Marinate the Chicken: Pat the chicken pieces thoroughly dry with a paper towel. Place the raw chicken in a large resealable plastic bag or an airtight container. Pour about half of the marinade over the chicken, making sure all pieces are well coated. Seal the bag/container and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or for best results, overnight (up to 8 hours). Try not to exceed 12 hours as the the pineapple juice can cause the meat to become mushy.
Reserve the Sauce: Pour the remaining marinade into a small bowl. This is your reserved marinade, which will become the basting sauce. Important: Do NOT use the used marinade that touched the raw chicken for basting later.
Cooking the Chicken
Prep the Grill: About 30 minutes before grilling, remove the chicken from the refrigerator. Prepare your charcoal grill for two-zone cooking (direct and indirect heat). Arrange coals on one side for medium-high heat (about 350-400 degrees), leaving the other side empty for medium heat. If using a gas grill, preheat one side to medium-high and the other to medium. Clean your grill grate and lightly oil it with a high smoke point cooking oil.
Grill the Chicken:
Place the marinated chicken on the direct heat side of the grill rack. Grill chicken for 2-3 minutes per side, until you get nice char marks.
Move the chicken to the indirect heat side of the grill. Now, start basting! Use a brush to generously apply the reserved marinade (your basting sauce) to the chicken every 3-5 minutes as the chicken cooks.
Continue to cook the chicken over indirect heat, turning occasionally with long-handled tongs, and basting frequently until the internal temperature reaches 185-190°F for chicken thighs (165°F for breasts) using an instant read thermometer. Cooking time will vary depending on the thickness of your chicken pieces (boneless thighs usually take 15-20 minutes total, breasts 12-18 minutes total).
Rest & Serve: Once cooked, remove the chicken from the grill. Let the chicken rest for 5-10 minutes before serving. This allows the juices to redistribute, resulting in incredibly juicy chicken and allows the sauce to set.
What to Serve with Huli Huli Chicken Thighs
Optional Grilled Pineapple: While the chicken is resting, quickly grill slices of fresh pineapple on the direct heat side for 1-2 minutes per side until lightly charred.
Serve your delicious grilled Huli Huli chicken with a side of sticky white rice, grilled pineapple, and a sprinkle of chopped green onions and sesame seeds. It also pairs perfectly with Hawaiian macaroni salad or classic potato salad or try our Caribbean Coconut Rice and Black Beans. The end result is pure paradise!
For more great island recipes be sure to try some of our other favorites:
- Bermuda's Famous Fried Fish Sandwich Recipe
- Dutch Oven Trini Chicken Pelau
- Jamaican Style Sweet and Spicy Jerk Barbecue Sauce
- Paseo Inspired Caribbean Roast Pork Sandwich
- Cuban Palomilla Steak Recipe: Steak and Onions
- Karni Stoba: Caribbean Beef Stew
- Jamaican Pepper Steak: Caribbean Style Beef Stir Fry
- Grilled Hawaiian Ribeye Steak Recipe
- Smoked Kalua Pork: Hawaiian Pulled Pork
Pro Tips for Huli Huli Perfection
Double Duty Sauce: Many Huli Huli sauce recipes will have you divide the sauce before marinating. This ensures you have a safe basting sauce and avoids any cross-contamination with raw chicken juices. It's the best thing for food safety!
Leftovers: Leftover chicken (once cooked) can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. It's fantastic the next day in sandwiches, wraps or rice bowls!
This Huli Huli Chicken recipe is truly a great recipe that brings the essence of Hawaii right to your plate. Give it a try this weekend and prepare for such amazing flavor!
Frequently Asked Questions
While you can use any cut of chicken, many recipes recommend using boneless, skinless chicken thighs. They are more flavorful and less likely to dry out during the grilling process than chicken breasts. Feel free you use your favorite.
This marinade contains pineapple juice so care must be taken not to marinate for too long. Fresh pineapple juice contains an enzyme called bromelain, which can break down the chicken's protein and make it mushy if left too long. Canned pineapple juice has been heat-processed and contains less bromelain so it is less of an issue.
Dark meat like thighs is safe at 165 degrees, however, for maximum tenderness it should be cooked to 185-190 degrees. White meat, like breasts, are best cooked to 165 degrees or even 160 degrees with a 5 minute rest.
Huli Huli chicken is often served with classic Hawaiian side dishes such as
sticky white rice, Hawaiian macaroni salad, grilled pineapple slices, steamed vegetables like broccoli or snap peas, and sliced green onions or sesame seeds for garnish
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📖 Recipe
Making Hawaiian Huli Huli Chicken on your Grill
Ingredients
- 12 Chicken Thighs about 2-3 pounds
Marinade and Basting Sauce
- ⅓ Cup Pineapple Juice
- ¼ Cup Ketchup
- ¼ Cup Tamari
- ¼ Cup Brown Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Rice Vinegar
- 2 Garlic Cloves
- 1 teaspoon Fresh Ginger minced
- 1 teaspoon Chicken Bouillon
- ½ teaspoon Smoked Paprika
Instructions
- Mince the garlic and ginger and then add all of the marinade ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Mix well, until the brown sugar is dissolved.
- Add the chicken thighs to a bowl or plastic bag and add about half of the marinade (about ½ cup). Mix well to evenly coat the chicken, then seal the bag or cover the bowl and place in the refrigerator. Marinate for at least 2 hours or overnight. Do not exceed 12 hours.
- Reserve the remaining marinade in an airtight container and refrigerate.
- When you are ready to cook, prepare your grill for 2 zone cooking. You will want an area for direct grilling over medium-high heat (350-400 degrees F) and an area of indirect medium heat.
- Remove the chicken from the marinade and grill for about 2-3 minutes per side over the direct heat, or until you get some nice grill marks.
- Next move the chicken to the indirect heat and baste with the reserved sauce. Cook the chicken thighs until they reach an internal temperature of 185-190 degrees (165 for breasts). Flip the chicken about every 3-5 minutes and baste each time you flip.
- Once the chicken is done cooking, baste one last time and let it rest for about 5 minutes before serving.
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