Juicy Blackstone Chicken Thighs

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.

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.

Give the chicken thighs a good seasoning all over, then they’re ready to hit the griddle. 

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.

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. 

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! 

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.