In Japan barbecued meats are very popular. Yakiniku is a style of cooking where meat is grilled over a hot flame. And Yakitori is chicken skewers grilled over a hot flame. But Japanese kitchens are small, and many people do not have ovens. For those of us here who do, It opens up a whole new world of choices that many Japanese families can only enjoy at restaurants or cafes. I have cooked this chicken for Japanese friends and they can’t believe that it was cooked in my kitchen. Barbecue Chicken is delicious when cooked on a grill, but this oven baked barbecued chicken tastes so great that you won’t care that it was cooked inside.
Oven Baked Barbecue Chicken
Like many of my oven cooked meat recipes, this one uses my delicious Mountainplums barbecue rub. This dish is extremely easy to make- mix the spices for the rub, slice a leek, rub the spice mix into both, and bake. It’s really that simple! You can add 1 TBSP of powdered wasabi to the spice mix if you want to really heat up your chicken, but the recipe is delicious as is. Give it a try and let me know what you think in the comments!

10 mins | 50 mins | Serves 2 |
10 mins | |
50 mins | |
Serves 2 |

- 2 large boneless chicken thighs, skin on – about 1 1/2 lbs
- 3/4 cup BBQ Rub, see notes, below
- 1 leek
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 320 deg F/ 160 deg C.
- Pat the chicken breasts dry with a paper towel.
- Roll the chicken breasts in the BBQ rub until thoroughly coated and put them into a well greased baking pan, skin side up. Cut the leek into 1 inch lengths and add to the baking pan.
- Bake the chicken for 30 minutes covered. Remove the cover and turn. Bake for another 15 minutes.
- Turn the chicken back over so it is skin side up again. Broil at 500 degrees for about 5 minutes until the skin is crispy but not burned.
- Remove from the oven and serve.
Notes:
- Try this awesome recipe for BBQ dry rub. You can make it in advance and store it a tightly sealed container in a cool dry place for up to 6 months.
Mix together the following ingredients…
1/4 cup finely granulated brown sugar
3 TBSP Paprika
1 TBSP Salt
1 TBSP Black Pepper
1 TBSP Onion Powder
1 TBSP Garlic Powder
1 tsp Ground Cumin
- Add 1 TBSP wasabi powder to the rub to spice it up!