If you’ve only used your griddle for smash burgers and breakfast, it’s time to change that. Cooking chicken thighs on the Blackstone gives you that deep, blackened char like a grill or smoker, but with faster cook times, less cleanup, and total control over the heat.
This is a quick, no-fuss method that results in thighs so tender and flavorful you can serve them as the star of a weeknight dinner, slice them up for tacos or sandwiches, or stash them for meal prep.
Why you’ll love these chicken thighs
After testing thighs on the grill, smoker, and griddle, I keep coming back to the flat-top. Here’s why:
- The hot surface gives me a crispy char outside while keeping the dark meat juicy inside
- It works on any setup I have handy, whether it’s my Blackstone, Flatrock, or a griddle plate on the gas grill
- The marinade and seasoning stay simple without needing special ingredients or equipment
- The leftovers hold up beautifully for meal prep, and I’ll slice them into tacos, sandwiches, or salads the next day, and they’re just as good cold
If you want thighs that cook fast, stay juicy, and come off the griddle with a char that rivals the smoker, this is the way to make them.
Perfect chicken thighs on a Blackstone
Ingredients you’ll need
- Chicken thighs – Thighs are a great cut to use as they’re really hard to overcook and dry out, and they have more flavor than breasts. Make sure they are skinless and boneless.
- Italian dressing – a quick, affordable marinade that tenderizes the chicken and adds garlicky, herb flavor. Any poultry marinade will work, but this one’s hard to beat for simplicity.
- Seasoning – Salt, black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and a little optional MSG.
How to cook chicken thighs on a Blackstone
1. Marinate
You can use any poultry marinade you like for this recipe, but I recommend Italian salad dressing. The vinegar in the dressing helps break down the chicken’s muscle fibres, resulting in a more tender bite. Additionally, the flavors of garlic, onion, and pepper enhance the overall taste.
Pro tip – Chicken doesn’t have a ton of inherent flavor. Marinating is a great way to pack in extra flavor before you cook any type of chicken, and chicken thighs are no exception.
Add the chicken thighs to a bowl or Cambro and submerge them in the Italian salad dressing overnight, or for about eight hours. You can get away with just letting them soak for two to three hours, but I’ve found that eight to ten hours yields the best flavor.
Once they are marinated, you can pull them out of the dressing.
There is no need to pat them dry; just shake off the excess dressing. It works as an excellent binder for your seasoning and will help the chicken get a beautiful char on the griddle.
2. Season
After marinating, the chicken is flavorful inside and out, but it’s still essential to season it for added flavor and to achieve a perfect char when it hits the griddle.
My chicken thigh seasoning blend is a simple combination of finely ground salt, black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and a touch of MSG for an umami kick. Alternatively, you can use a pre-made poultry rub.
Pro tip – Avoid rubs with sugar. Sugar tends to burn easily on the griddle’s surface, especially when mixed with the marinade.
Give the chicken thighs a good seasoning all over, then they’re ready to hit the griddle.
Using a shaker to apply the seasoning ensures you get a really even coverage on the thighs.
3. Fire up the griddle
I used my Traeger Flatrock, but I’ve made chicken thighs on my Blackstone griddle, my Camp Chef Gridiron, and even on my gas grill with a griddle plate on the top.
Preheat the griddle to medium heat, around 350°F. You want to avoid higher temperatures because the outside of the chicken will burn too quickly and leave the inside undercooked.
While you want to get a nice, blackened char on the outside of the meat, you don’t want to incinerate it completely.
Once your griddle is preheated, you can add a bit of oil to prevent the chicken from sticking to the surface, and then it’s time to start cooking!
4. Cook your thighs
When the oil has had a couple of minutes to come up to temp, you can add your seasoned chicken thighs.
Once on the griddle, it’s really important to leave them alone for a bit to really build up that char. Similar to blackened chicken, you want the seasoning to turn almost black without fully burning to give you the best flavor.
Pro tip: Give each thigh enough room to breathe; overcrowding traps steam and kills your crust. Work in batches if necessary.
I’ve found that boneless, skinless thighs require about five to seven minutes per side, but it really depends on the thickness of your chicken. At maximum, you’ll need about 20 minutes total, but the key is to check the internal temperature.
You want to cook them to an internal temperature of around 175-185°F.
While chicken is totally safe to eat once it reaches 165°F internally, I’ve found that dark chicken meat (thighs and legs) tends to taste a lot better and have a better overall texture when it’s brought up to a higher internal temperature. Unlike chicken breast, which can dry out quickly, the higher fat content in dark meat helps keep it juicy, even at higher temperatures.
When cooking chicken thighs for competition, I bring them up to over 200°F internal. It may sound crazy, but with all the sauce, marinating, and injecting that goes into competition chicken, combined with the fact that thighs are dark meat, they remain incredibly juicy!
Once your thighs have a beautiful char on the outside and they reach at least 175°F internal, you can pull them off the griddle and they’re ready to enjoy!
Don’t be afraid to overcook dark meat chicken – it’s a lot more forgiving than you may think!
This recipe is leftover gold. Grill up a batch for easy weeknight dinners, use the leftovers in tacos, sandwiches, or even fried rice. They’re juicy enough to shine on their own and versatile enough to carry a whole lot of meals.
If you whip up a batch of these chicken thighs on your griddle, remember to comment and leave a five-star rating below.
More Blackstone recipe ideas
Print
Juicy Blackstone Chicken Thighs
Tender, juicy chicken thighs that have been marinated, seasoned, and seared on a hot griddle for big flavor and fast, no-fuss cooking.
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Prep Time 20 minutes minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes minutes
Marinate up to 10 hours hours
Total Time 10 hours hours 40 minutes minutes
Servings 4
Calories 340kcal
- 2 lb chicken thighs skinless, boneless
- 24 oz Italian salad dressing
- 2 tbsp oil
Seasoning
- 1 tbsp table salt
- 1 tbsp black pepper ground fine
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp MSG optional
Lay your chicken thighs out on a prep tub or cutting board and trim off any excess fat or skin hanging off the sides.
Transfer the trimmed thighs to a bowl or container and add the Italian dressing until the chicken is fully submerged. Cover the container and store it in the fridge for eight to ten hours.
Pull the marinated chicken out of the container. Let the excess dressing drip off, but don’t pat dry; it acts as a binder for the seasoning and helps with browning. Lay the chicken out onto a cutting board.
Apply the seasoning liberally all over the thighs.
Preheat your griddle to medium heat, about 350°F surface temp.
Once the griddle is preheated, add 1–2 tbsp oil and heat until shimmering before adding the chicken.
Place the thighs on the griddle and leave them alone until they build up a nice char. This should take five to seven minutes per side, no longer than 20 minutes in total.
Your chicken is cooked when it reaches an internal temperature of around 175-185°F.
I recommend using Italian salad dressing. The vinegar in the dressing helps break down the muscle fibers in the chicken, resulting in a more tender bite. Additionally, the flavors of garlic, onion, and pepper enhance the overall taste.
If you’re short on time, you can get away with just marinating them for two to three hours, but I’ve found that eight to ten hours yields the best flavor.
If using a store-bought seasoning, avoid those with sugar. Sugar tends to burn easily on the griddle’s surface, especially when mixed with the marinade. You can use any griddle you like for this recipe.
Any griddle with a flat surface will work for this recipe. I used my Traeger Flatrock, but I’ve made chicken thighs on my Blackstone griddle, my Camp Chef Gridiron, and even on my gas grill with a griddle plate on the top.
Don’t overcrowd the chicken on the griddle. Give each thigh enough room to breathe; overcrowding traps steam and kills your crust. Work in batches if necessary.
Chicken is safe to eat once it reaches 165°F internally, I’ve found that dark chicken meat (thighs and legs) tends to taste a lot better and have a better overall texture when it’s brought up to a higher internal temperature. Calories: 340kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 44g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 215mg | Sodium: 1947mg | Potassium: 590mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 0.1g | Vitamin A: 63IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 31mg | Iron: 2mg
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