Hawaiian Huli Huli Chicken
If there’s one grilled chicken to try, it’s Hawaiian Huli Huli Chicken. “Huli-huli” means “turn-turn” and was well known as a “Hawaiian-only” food. Not anymore ’cause the secret’s out. Make this tender, mouthwatering chicken easily at home.
Well, guys, we’re down to the wire.
Labor Day weekend is just a couple days away, shouting out loud and clear that summer is over. 🙁
Nobody really cares that Miss Almanac touts September 22 as the last day of summer. That’s just formality. Fall becomes unofficially inducted the Tuesday after Labor Day.
On that bittersweet day, every last kid will be back in school. Many kiddos have been back at the school desk for a couple weeks already, says my daily FB feed.
So let’s do this last hurrah right, shall we??
Yes, yes, we shall. We shall do this last hurrah. And we will do it SO right.
We’ll celebrate the last of summer in a big, yummy, delicious way. [Possibly game-changing way.]
We’ll BBQ and grill and cook-out to our summery hearts’ content.
We’re grasping every last wisp of summer with this Hawaiian Huli Huli Chicken.
Food nerd note: Huli Huli refers to the turn-turn grill method used in Hawaii. This particular recipe for Hawaiian BBQ chicken was known as a Hawaii-only food when it first hit the scene back in the 1950’s, and quickly became a huge hit (you’ll see why when you taste this.)
Thankfully, it’s a secret no longer and we can all enjoy this crazy-delish chicken on our own grills, whenever the craving for really good chicken comes calling.
Our family loves this recipe so dang much, we are certain you guys will flip (turn-turn) over it.
Hawaiian Huli Huli Chicken is tender, savory, BIG on flavor, healthy, and scarf-down worthy.
Here’s to the best last-hurrah recipe of the season.
Enjoy.

Hawaiian Huli Huli Chicken
Ingredients
- 3 lbs boneless/skinless chicken breasts or thighs, thighs will be a bit more tender
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- ½ cup ketchup
- ½ cup regular soy sauce
- ¼ cup sherry
- 2 tsp fresh ginger, minced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- Optional: green onions, sliced thinly for garnish over cooked chicken
Instructions
- Towel dry the chicken pieces well. Use a fork to pierce chicken pieces throughout.
- In a bowl, combine all remaining ingredients to make the marinade. Reserve 2/3 cup of marinade for a basting sauce. Pour rest of marinade over towel dried/pierced chicken pieces in a large bowl, turning chicken to thoroughly coat well. Cover and chill overnight, or at least 8 hours. Turn once or twice during marinade time to ensure even marinating.
- Drain/discard used marinade from chicken pieces. Grease grill and heat to medium high heat. Grill chicken 4-5 minutes per side, or just until center is no longer pink; do not over-cook. Baste with the 2/3 cup reserved sauce during the last couple of minutes during grill time (if you start basting too early, it will be more likely to burn.)
Did you make this?
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Source: Chew Out Loud
We’re pretty sure you’ll flip over these other luscious chicken recipes, too!
- Grilled Teriyaki Chicken. It’s a tried and true favorite among all our family and friends. We think you’ll love it.
- Lemon Dijon Grilled Chicken. The bright, yummy flavors of this healthy grilled chicken just shine in your mouth.
- Baked Honey Soy Chicken. Weather not cooperating for the grill? No worries. This baked chicken will make you forget all about that. Finger lickin’ great.