Southern Sticky Chicken is a simple old-fashioned baked chicken recipe that is sweet, spicy, tangy, and so, so good.
Sticky Chicken Recipe
To really build the flavor, the chicken is first marinated, then seared in a cast iron skillet, and then roasted until cooked through. The chicken gets basted multiple times while it is in the oven so it really develops a nice, sticky coating.
The sticky sauce functions as both a marinade and a sauce. It’s a simple mixture of honey, ketchup, soy sauce, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, paprika, and garlic. The sauce gets wonderfully caramelized due to the sugars in the ketchup and honey and the hot sauce really balances the sweetness.
Reader Comment
Nancy says- “My family wants this almost weekly. They misunderstood the first time I told them we were having sticky chicken, they thought I said stinky and that’s what it is now called. But there’s nothing stinky about it, it’s delicious and smells amazing.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
How To Make Sticky Chicken
(More detailed instructions in recipe card below.)
- Make the marinade. In a zip top bag combine honey, ketchup, soy sauce, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, paprika and garlic.
- Add chicken. Add the chicken to the bag and marinate in the refrigerator for 8 to 12 hours.
- Heat pan. Pour oil into a cast iron pan and heat over medium heat until hot.
- Brown chicken. Add chicken to pan and brown on all sides.
- Add marinade to pan.
- Bake and Baste. Transfer pan to oven and bake for 1 hour, basting the chicken every 15 minutes.
What Type Of Chicken To Use?
I prefer dark meat over white meat. It stays juicier because of the higher fat content and will not dry out. You want bone-in, skin-on pieces. If you do use white meat, cut the breasts in half if they are large and reduce the cooking time some. Chicken is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 165 F. It’s a really good idea to have an instant read thermometer so you can make sure you don’t overcook your chicken.
Southern Sticky Chicken Recipe Tips
If you want your chicken extra spicy, add 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper to the marinade.
If you are pressed for time, you can marinate the chicken for as little as 2 hours.
This chicken is best cooked in a cast iron skillet. You can use another type of oven-proof skillet instead. If you don’t have an oven-proof skillet, transfer the chicken and all the juices to a baking dish before transferring to the oven.
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Southern Sticky Chicken
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1/3 cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 8 bone-in, skin on chicken legs or chicken thighs, or a combination
- Vegetable oil
Instructions
- In a large zip top bag, combine the honey, ketchup, soy sauce, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, paprika, and garlic.
- Add chicken to bag.Refrigerate for 8 to 12 hours.
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.Pour enough oil into a large cast iron skillet to coat the bottom.Heat pan over medium heat. (Note: You don't want it too hot or the sugars in the marinade will cause the skin of the chicken to burn.)
- When hot, remove chicken from marinade and add to pan. Cook until browned on all sides.Pour marinade over chicken and place uncovered in the oven for 60 minutes, basting every 15 minutes. (Chicken should be skin side up.)
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
I had a large package of chicken legs and didnt know what to do with them except fry or grill them. I found thos recipe and decided to give it a try. This turned out delicious. I’m raising 2 picky granddaughters. They both loved the chicken. My husband asked if i would make this often. Thankyou for this wonderful recipe.
It was okay not the best. It didn’t taste like I thought it would.
Family loved it!
Twas a big hit!! Thank you!
Wonderful!
FINALLY! A recipe that turns out the way it says. The only thing I changed was, I used oyster sauce instead of soy sauce. With a family of 5, the cost of food and living day by day , chicken is always an affordable option, so I’m always looking for different ways to fix it.
Thank you
Thank you Candace!
Can you really use that marinade again that had the raw chicken in it?
Yes, it ends up cooking for 1 hour. Any bacteria will be killed, same as any bacteria that is on the chickwn.
What can I replace the Worcestershire with?
Soy Sauce.
My family loved this dish! I swapped paprika for Tony Sacheres and I left off the soy sauce but it was amazing! Paired with sautéed squash and dinner was done!
I love all your recipes and thank you. Mary Hadden
Recipe looks very good. Hope to try it soon.