Can you imagine a more delicious and spicy dish than these caramelized tender Bang Bang Chicken Skewers? Marinated in a delicious volcano sauce with a combination of spices and grilled to crispy, tender street-food style skewers.
If you love tender and crispy chicken recipes, try our Grilled Lemon Pepper Chicken Thighs or Chicken Spiedini!
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Caramelized Crispy Chicken
The all-time best way to get crispy caramelized chicken is to marinate it in mayonnaise. Mayo is the perfect combo of sugar and fat that creates a caramelization, which combines crispy and tender chicken thighs.
I like to add butter to the basting, like I do with my Garlic Parm Chicken Skewers. It adds to the tenderness of the chicken when you're grilling and makes it easier to remove the chicken from the grill.
If you're looking to get the moist and delicious bang bang chicken skewers, marinate in chipotle mayo and baste with a combination of butter and extra chipotle mayo.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Boneless Chicken Thighs. Chicken thighs are perfect for skewers because of their fat content. They caramelize to a perfect crisp tenderness. You could substitute chicken breast, but it will be slightly drier.
- Seasoning. I use chili powder, paprika, salt, and pepper. You could add more garlic with garlic powder or cayenne to spice it up.
- Chipotle mayo. I use the same chipotle mayo recipe as my Volcano Shrimp Tacos. It's perfect to marinate these chicken thighs and as a sauce on its own.
- Butter. Basting with butter and mayo while cooking gives you the tender and crispy perfection that you recognize in good street-food style skewers.
*Please see the recipe card below for more information on ingredients.
How to Make Bang Bang Chicken Skewers
Step 1: Combine mayo, garlic, chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, and lime juice in a mixing cup or food processor.
Step 2: Use an immersion blender or food processor to blend the sauce together until it is smooth and creamy.
Step 3: Chop the boneless chicken thighs into 1-inch pieces. Place them in a large bowl with olive oil, chili powder, paprika, salt, and pepper.
Step 4: Add half the chipotle mayo to the bowl. Mix well and marinate for at least 1 hour.
Step 5: Preheat the grill to medium heat, 450 ℉. Place the chicken thighs onto the skewers.
Step 6: Melt the 3 tablespoon of butter in a pan or a small bowl in the microwave. Combine it with the remaining chipotle mayo. Place the skewers on the grill. Using a basting brush, brush the mayo and butter onto the chicken. Close the grill and cook for 4 minutes.
Step 7: Turn the skewers every 4 minutes, brushing with mayo each time. Cook for a total of 15-16 minutes or until the chicken reaches 165 ℉.
Step 8: Take the chicken off the grill and rest for 10 minutes. Serve with fresh lime wedges.
Serve bang bang chicken skewers with a Grilled Shrimp Salad with Cilantro Mango Vinaigrette. Or serve them with Cowboy Caviar Salad!
Pro-Tips
- Spice up the chipotle mayo by adding half a teaspoon of cayenne pepper or an extra chipotle pepper.
- Marinate the chicken for at least an hour, but overnight is best for the flavor to penetrate the chicken.
- Grill the chicken thighs on one side and don't flip until they no longer stick.
- Rest the chicken for 10 minutes before removing them from the skewers.
Recipe FAQs
They're not ready to be flipped if they're still sticking. Wait another two minutes and then try again once they are cooked more.
Marinating chicken in mayo is perfect to get the crispiest results because it has a high fat content, and it will caramelize while on the grill.
Bang bang sauce, volcano sauce, and chipotle mayo are all basically the same. Just different ways to say spicy mayo.
More Delicious Grilled Recipes
Please leave a comment and star rating below in the recipe card! I love to hear what you think of our recipes. Feel free to tag us on Instagram @vindelgiudice.
📖 Recipe
Bang Bang Chicken Skewers
Equipment
- 8-10 skewers
- 1 grill
- 1 large bowl
- 1 immersion blender or food processor
- 1 basting brush
Ingredients
- 3-4 lbs boneless chicken thighs
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 3 tablespoon unsalted butter
Chipotle Mayo
- 1 cup mayo
- 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1.5 tablespoon lime juice
Instructions
- Combine mayo, garlic, chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, and lime juice. Use an immersion blender or food processor to blend the sauce together.
- Chop the boneless chicken thighs into 1-inch pieces. Place them in a large bowl with olive oil, chili powder, paprika, salt, and pepper. Combine and then add half the chipotle mayo. Mix well and marinate for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat the grill to medium heat, 450 ℉. Place the chicken thighs onto the skewers. Melt the 3 tablespoon of butter in a pan or a small bowl in the microwave. Combine it with the remaining chipotle mayo.
- Place the skewers on the grill. Using a basting brush, brush the mayo and butter onto the chicken. Close the grill and cook for 4 minutes. Turn the skewers every 4 minutes, brushing with mayo each time. Cook for a total of 15-16 minutes or until the chicken reaches 165 ℉.
- Take the chicken off the grill and rest for 10 minutes. Serve with fresh lime wedges.
Vinny
These are my wife's favorite skewer recipe on the website. They're spicy and tender making them the perfect grilling recipe for our family!