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You are here: Home / Chicken / Campfire Whiskey BBQ Chicken Recipe

Campfire Whiskey BBQ Chicken Recipe

Posted by Jessica Pinney on March 3, 2015, last updated January 26, 2021

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Campfire Whiskey BBQ Chicken

Living in a city is great, but sometimes you just need a little peace and quiet. Because of this, Janette and I have started regularly camping at all the different National Parks in the Southwest.

Campfire BBQ Whiskey Chicken Recipe

While I love sleeping outside, I don’t want to “rough it” when it comes to food. We definitely had everyone in our campsite and all the bears in the Sequoias jealous with the aroma that filled the air while we were cooking this Campfire Whiskey BBQ Chicken.

Campfire Whiskey BBQ Chicken Recipe

The BBQ sauce can be made at home and stored in the fridge up to a week before your trip. I usually just store it in a large mason jar and throw it in our cooler when we’re headed to camp.

Campfire Whiskey BBQ Chicken Recipe

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Campfire Whiskey BBQ Chicken Recipe

A slightly spicy bbq sauce pairs perfectly with the chicken in this smokey campfire dinner recipe.

  • Author: Jessica Pinney
  • Prep Time: 15 min
  • Cook Time: 90 min
  • Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
  • Yield: 6 1x
  • Category: Dinner
  • Cuisine: American
Campfire Whiskey BBQ Chicken Recipe
Print Recipe
★★★★★ 5 from 6 reviews

Ingredients

Sauce:
1 1/4 cups ketchup
1 tsp hot sauce (or more depending on personal heat preference)
2 tablespoons dark molasses
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons whiskey (I used Macallan 12, whatever you have will do)
2 tablespoons Worcestershire
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 large garlic clove, minced

Chicken:
6 chicken legs with thighs attached or small bone-in breast halves (3 3/4 lbs. total)
1 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions

At Home:

1. Make sauce: Combine ingredients in a medium saucepan. Cover and simmer 45 minutes to blend flavors, stirring occasionally. Add a little water if sauce gets too thick to pour. Let cool, then transfer to a plastic container and chill up to 1 week.

2. Prepare chicken: In a large bowl, coat chicken in oil; pack in a resealable plastic bag and chill up to 2 days, or freeze.

In Camp:

3. Build a charcoal or wood fire in a grill and let burn to medium (350° to 450°; you can hold your hand 5 in. above cooking grate only 5 to 7 seconds).

4. Place cast iron skillet over fire. Grill chicken in skillet until browned all over, about 15 minutes, turning occasionally. Turn again, generously brush tops with some of BBQ sauce, and cook a few minutes; repeat turning and brushing 2 more times, until chicken is well-browned and cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes total.

5. Remove from skillet and top with additional BBQ sauce. Serve immediately.

Nutrition

  • Calories: 463

Did you make this recipe?

Please tag @cookingwithjanica and use #cookingwithjanica on social media. We'd love to see!

Original Recipe: Kelly Liken

Campfire Whiskey BBQ Chicken
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  1. DANNY THOMAS says

    May 24, 2015 at 4:04 am

    You have style in cooking ..making me go crazy ..i,m a gyspy farrier on the road ..this is hard for me to do ..

    Reply
  2. Hannah says

    February 15, 2016 at 4:42 am

    The weather was so good this weekend that we went camping and tried this recipe. It was by far the best camp food I’ve ever had. The BBQ sauce was to die for!

    Reply
  3. greg says

    February 20, 2016 at 3:45 am

    This was the best BBQ sauce I’ve had, thank you for sharing your recipe.

    Reply
  4. FH says

    July 29, 2016 at 12:59 am

    Do you recommend skinless or skin on?

    Reply
    • Jessica Pinney says

      July 29, 2016 at 2:33 am

      I like it with the skin on. Stays juicer and you get that little bit of crispiness from the skin.

      Reply
  5. brett says

    May 25, 2017 at 9:23 am

    How do you print the recipe?

    Reply
  6. Tina says

    May 30, 2017 at 8:03 am

    What a great idea adding a bit of whiskey! This looks amazing and I bet it was even better camping since everything tastes better when camping:)

    Reply
  7. Kellie says

    September 1, 2017 at 11:57 am

    Mccallan 12 is NOT a whiskey!!

    It’s a scotch, COMPLETELY different flavor profiles.

    Reply
    • Jessica Pinney says

      September 1, 2017 at 12:34 pm

      Scotch, bourbon, and rye are types of whiskey. Whiskey is a broad category of liquor and can have lots of differences in color, taste, and smell. We think the smokiness of Macallan pairs exceptionally well with the other ingredients in this recipe.

      Reply
  8. Lorraine says

    July 17, 2018 at 5:50 pm

    Made this tonight while camping.. two thumbs up yummy BBQ sauce

    Reply
  9. David Walrath says

    July 26, 2018 at 5:57 am

    so i can do this anytime – i put chicken in a bowl . poured sauce over it and let it set 24 hours . – let it come to room temp. & cooked it in a hot air fryer @ 340 degrees checking temp of chicken . when cooked through i put another coat of sauce overit and cooked until “ chared “ . this is REALLY GOOD ?

    Reply
  10. Chris says

    July 27, 2018 at 7:03 am

    Won’t be camping but going to do this tonight in the grill. Sounds delicious!

    Reply
  11. Gloria says

    August 6, 2018 at 2:42 pm

    Well I am not a camper (just as my husband)….but I would visit your campfire if you served me this for dinner. This looks and sounds like a great chicken dinner to me. Love the sauce!!!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  12. anne says

    August 6, 2018 at 3:41 pm

    That looks so good. I love barbecue of any kind but homemade is the best!

    Reply
  13. Elaine @ Dishes Delish says

    August 7, 2018 at 6:33 am

    Wow! This chicken looks delicious!! I love that you used whiskey in your bbq sauce!! I don’t like camping, so I’ll be making your lovely recipe at home near all of my comfy things 🙂

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  14. shobee says

    August 7, 2018 at 8:26 am

    We love camping too, and this is a good idea for camping. I would pre boil the chicken ahead of time and drench the BBQ sauce. This will be good even for dinner.

    Reply
  15. Tammy says

    August 8, 2018 at 11:02 am

    Yesss <3 This looks and sounds so, so delicious! I'm loving the sound of that fabulous sauce 😀

    Reply
  16. Leslie Haasch says

    August 9, 2018 at 3:01 pm

    I’m the same way – I don’t mind camping, but I’m not gonna slack on the quality of my meals!

    Reply
  17. Veronika's Kitchen says

    August 10, 2018 at 1:09 pm

    Love BBQ chicken, especially if it is cooked on a campfire! I can imagine the mouthwatering aroma you have while cooking it!)

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  18. Amanda Mason says

    August 10, 2018 at 7:36 pm

    I love that this has dijon mustard in it!! I bet this tastes amazing cooked in a cast iron skillet!! Looks delish and and I can see how it would be perfect for a camping trip as well as at home!!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  19. Nicoletta Sugarlovespices says

    August 12, 2018 at 3:10 pm

    Us as well. Camping is fun, but when it comes to food, we want it good like we would make it at home. This whiskey bbq chicken recipe is fantastic, both at home and in the outdoors!

    Reply
  20. Amanda says

    August 12, 2018 at 3:33 pm

    This looks finger lickin’ good! I love that sauce.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  21. Judy Purcell says

    August 12, 2018 at 5:41 pm

    It’s always good to find new bbq sauce recipes to keep grilling season is going strong. i like the addition of whiskey in there.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  22. Kitty says

    August 12, 2018 at 7:13 pm

    You had me at whiskey! I love a homemade barbecue sauce but I also love making food over an open fire!

    Reply
  23. Annette says

    August 27, 2018 at 1:30 pm

    Looks delicious! How do you clean your cast iron skillet after cooking the chicken at the campground?

    Reply
  24. Angelle E Childers says

    November 12, 2018 at 2:34 pm

    Just made this for dinner, SO DELICIOUS! Will definitely make it again!

    Reply
  25. Jonathan Ashley says

    October 11, 2021 at 5:56 pm

    Looks great, I’m going to have to try it, thanks for sharing.

    Reply

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