I’m all about the summer party. It’s basically what I look forward to all week and then when the weekend hits, it’s time to get things moving!

Backyard BBQ’s are my go-to for summer entertaining. I used to cook for giant BBQ’s when I was a private chef. Giant! Like 75 people. By myself! The key to an awesome BBQ is prepping ahead of time so you’re not crazy when you have friends over. Which is why this Sweet Tea BBQ chicken is utter perfection!

Gold Peak Tea has an epic Sweet Tea variety that makes for a perfect brine! I just added a bit of salt along with some aromatics and let the chicken brine overnight. Then, when it’s time to grill, the chicken just goes straight onto the BBQ and it’s ready in a matter of minutes. Simple, delicious and majorly gorgeous – I promise this is perfect for any of your upcoming cookouts!

Sweet Tea BBQ Chicken

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Ingredients

12 bone-in/skin on chicken drumsticks
2-18.5 ounce bottles Gold Peak Sweet Tea
1 shallot roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic roughly chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil plus extra as needed
2 teaspoons kosher salt plus extra as needed
2 lemons halved
Freshly cracked black pepper

Instructions

In a large zip top bag, combine the chicken, Gold Peak Sweet Tea, shallot, garlic, olive oil and salt. Squeeze the halved lemons into the marinade and then add the lemons themselves. Carefully zip the top closed and place into a baking dish. Transfer the baking dish into the refrigerator and marinate for 12-24 hours.
Once marinated, carefully remove the chicken from the bag and discard the marinade.
Drizzle the marinated chicken with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Brush an outdoor grill with olive oil to coat the grate. Turn the grill on to medium high heat, about 425 degrees F. Using a pair of tongs, place the chicken onto the grill and cook, turning as needed to cook both sides, until the internal temperature of the chicken is 165 degrees F.
Remove the chicken from the grill and transfer to a serving platter. Allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving. Serve with extra lemon wedges as needed.

Photo by Matt Armendariz

As a contributing food and lifestyle editor to Better Homes and Gardens, I get to develop awesome recipes for various brands. This post is brought to you in collaboration with Gold Peak Tea. All content, ideas, and words are my own. Thanks for supporting the sponsors that allow me to create new and special content like this for What’s Gaby Cooking.

16 Comments

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Love the use of tea on this BBQ chicken!

What an awesome idea to use sweet tea for these! They look like the perfect drum sticks!!

I love the idea of this, can’t wait to try it. Perfect for summertime BBQs

Mmm, another tasty chicken recipe to add to my collection. I like this as it’s simple to make, just requires planning ahead to marinate. Thank you!

I love that all the hard work is done overnight while I am sleeping!!!
What a great idea, this Sweet Tea marinade!!

Love the use of the sweet tea as a marinade and especially since you leave it overnight and ready to use the next day. Looks delicious will have to try this weekedn.

Happy Birthday Gaby!

Really love that you used sweet tea in this recipe as a marinade – HOW SMART!! I bet this tastes amazing!!

You said it! Absolute perfection!

I love this recipe. Thanks so much.

Love this BBQ chicken!! Bet it’s fabulous!!

What a FUN Combo! I will have to try this! I grew up in GA on sweet tea so this is up my alley!
http://www.prettybitchescancooktoo.com

This sounds SO good!! Gorgeous photos!

Gaby says:

June 17, 2014 at 10:27 AM

Thanks Kate!!

I can not grill outside so I am going to use my Foreman grill. I have used sweet tea when cooking a roast in the slow cooker, so I know the value of sweet tea in cooking. TY for the recipe.