Grilled Huli Huli Chicken Skewers are one of the best ways to upgrade your chicken game!
This huli huli chicken recipe is super easy to make and it’s packed with a ton of delicious flavor. You can cut up the chicken and let it marinate, then grill it up once it’s time for dinner. Serve it up with a side of rice, some grilled pineapple chunks and vegetables for the perfect meal.
Be sure to give this Hawaiian grilled chicken dish a try the next time you’re looking to grill up some juicy chicken!
Ingredients you will need
Protein: Boneless skinless chicken thighs or skinless chicken breast
Marinade: Liquid aminos or soy sauce, pineapple juice, sesame oil, fresh ginger or ginger paste, rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar, ketchup, brown sugar, garlic, salt and pepper
Options to serve it with: White rice, pineapple slices, red bell peppers and red onion
How to make Grilled Huli Huli Chicken Skewers
Marinating the chicken
Start off by putting the delicious marinade together by combining all of the ingredients in a large bowl and mix it thoroughly so that every thing is combined. Set aside 1 cup of the marinade in an airtight container for basting the meat while you grill it.
Next, trim the excess fat off of the chicken then cut them up into 2 inch pieces. I prefer to use chicken thighs over chicken breasts when grilling over direct heat because they are a lot more forgiving and they won’t dry out as easily. As another option, you can marinate a whole chicken and cook it whole on a rotisserie or by spatchcocking it.
Place the cut up chicken in the bowl of marinade and mix it around so that all of the chicken is coated. Place a lid on the bowl then place it in the fridge. The marinating time for this should be a minimum of 1 hour, but ideally the next day or up to 12 hours.
Grilling the Huli Huli Chicken Skewers
When you are ready to cook your chicken, drain the excess liquid from the raw chicken. Begin adding the marinated chicken pieces to the skewers, make sure that the chicken is packed tight on each one. I used metal skewers for this cook as they are reusable. If you’re using wooden skewers for this, make sure that you soak them in water for 1-2 hours prior to putting the meat on them so that they don’t burn while cooking them.
Get your grill set up for direct cooking over medium-high heat. I cooked my chicken on my Nomad Grills because charcoal grills get nice and hot and it gives off a lot of great flavor.
Place the skewers directly on the grill grates and rotate them every 2-3 minutes to evenly cook them.
Once you’ve made a full rotation, begin basting the meat with the reserved marinade then rotate every minute. This will help form some delicious caramelized char on the chicken. Be sure to keep an eye on it as you’re cooking as you do not want to burn the sugars.
Use an instant read thermometer to check the internal temperature of the chicken. Remove it from the grill once it reaches a temp of 165°F and let the chicken rest for 5 minutes.
Serve the Grilled Huli Huli Chicken Skewers
Drizzle some sriracha mayo on the top of the grill chicken and garnish them with chives, black and white sesame seeds.
Place the huli-huli chicken on a plate, then serve them with a side dish of rice and some sweet pineapple.
These huli huli chicken kabobs are also a great way to meal prep. Cook them up and store them in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
If you love to eat chicken, be sure to try my Grilled Chimichurri Chicken Wings and Teriyaki Wings.
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Grilled Huli Huli Chicken Skewers
Grilled Huli Huli Chicken Skewers are one of the best ways to add delicious flavor to grilled chicken! Packed with sweet and savory flavor, this will be your new favorite meal!
Ingredients
- 3 pounds of boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 2 cups of jasmine rice
- 1 pineapple
Marinade
- 1 cup of pineapple juice
- 1/2 cup liquid aminos
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp ginger paste
- 3 cloves minced garlic
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Assemble marinade by combining all of the ingredients in a bowl and mixing it throughly.
- Cut up the chicken thighs into 2 inch pieces then place in the marinate for 2-12 hours.
- Place the chicken tightly on a skewer then grill it up over direct heat. Rotate the skewers every 2 minutes then brush on reserved marinade.
- Once the chicken reaches an internal temperature 165°F, remove it from the grill.
- Drizzle on sriracha mayo and garnish with chives and sesame seeds
- Serve with a side of rice and grilled pineapple
