Huli Huli Chicken Holds A Special Place In My Heart 🌺
There’s something special about sharing my family’s Hawaiian recipes here on PWWB. Every dish brings me back to memories of Hawaii – filled with love, togetherness, and that warm, welcoming spirit of aloha.
After sharing our Best-Ever Kalua Pig, Baked Manapua, and Spam Musubi, I’m thrilled to bring you this Huli Huli Chicken recipe.
Huli huli is a BBQ style that’s uniquely Hawaiian. I first tried this iconic rotisserie chicken during an early trip to Hawaii with Chris. We were cruising along Oahu’s Windward side (one of my absolute favorite spots!) when we stumbled upon a roadside huli huli chicken stand.
A man was flipping racks of chicken over an open fire, selling fresh, wood-fired roasted chicken straight from his car. The flames, smoky aromas, and crispy charred chickens completely drew me in. It was one of those “I need that right now!” moments – and trust me, it did not disappoint. I’ve been hooked ever since.
Huli huli cravings always follow me back to the mainland, so I turned to my Mom for help perfecting this at-home version. She has fond memories of huli huli chicken from her Oahu childhood and makes the best huli huli sauce you’ll ever taste.
Halved whole chickens soak up a simple brine of pineapple, dark brown sugar, and shoyu, creating the perfect balance of sweet and tangy flavors, while keeping the chicken juicy and tender. Unlike the traditional version, there’s no need to gather kiawe wood or set up a fancy rotisserie for this recipe. Instead, we use indirect heat on a backyard grill to mimic the crispy, charred skin you’d expect from your favorite local spot.
It’s easy, delicious, local-style comfort food – the perfect way to shake up your everyday grilled chicken recipes. We can’t wait for you to try it!
A Taste of Hawaii at Home
18+ cherished family recipes, from my ‘ohana to yours.
What is Huli Huli Chicken? Mom’s Memories from Growing Up in Hawaii 🌺
Huli huli chicken is Hawaii’s take on wood-fired rotisserie chicken. Traditionally, it’s cooked in wire racks over a kiawe wood fire, which infuses the chicken with that smoky-sweet flavor we all crave. “Huli” means “turn,” and that’s exactly what you do – turn the chicken over the fire until it’s perfectly juicy and charred.
These days, you’ll find huli huli chicken all over Hawaii – from local restaurants and lunch wagons to pop-ups on the side of the road, just like the one Chris and I stumbled upon! The old-school method of turning the chicken by hand is often swapped for motorized rotisseries, but the iconic flavor is just as amazing. Despite all the changes over time, huli huli chicken remains a simple, delicious dish at its core.
My personal favorite? ⇢ Mike’s Huli Chicken on Oahu’s North Shore – you can’t beat that authentic Hawaiian flavor! But my mom’s homemade version is a close second.
This huli huli chicken recipe comes from my mom, who was born and raised on Oahu. When she shared it with me, she told me that huli huli chicken was a staple at school and organization fundraisers. It was simple, affordable, and loved by everyone
“The fundraisers set up metal tray tables filled with kiawe wood and placed the chicken halves over the heat in framed wire fencing with handles. When it was time to huli (or turn) the chicken, they would lay another fencing frame on top of the chicken to help flip it over.” The chicken was finished with a spray of salt water and grilled until the skin was rendered and charred. As she recalls, “nothing smelled better.” 🤤
Despite its humble beginnings, today you’ll find all sorts of seasoning rubs, sauces, and marinades used for huli huli chicken. While the seasonings vary, pineapple is always a key ingredient. My Mom’s recipe uses a simple blend of sweet pineapple, dark brown sugar, savory shoyu, and aromatic spices for maximum flavor.
Key Ingredients
Like many local Hawaiian dishes, this huli huli chicken recipe is super simple. You only need three key ingredients to make it at home.
Here’s what you’ll need…
- Spatchcocked chicken – A spatchcocked (or butterflied) chicken has the backbone removed, so it lays flat as it cooks. This is perfect for grilling because it helps the chicken cook evenly and get that beautiful char. While “spatchcocking” may sound intimidating, it’s actually really easy to do at home – check out our How to Spatchcock a Chicken guide for a step-by-step walkthrough.
- Pineapple juice – Pineapple is a key ingredient in many huli huli chicken recipes because it’s easily accessible in Hawaii. The sweetness balances the smoky, savory flavors of the chicken, and its sugars caramelize on the grill for that perfect golden-brown color and added depth of flavor. While I usually say “fresh is best,” that’s not the case here. Fresh pineapple juice contains enzymes that affect the chicken’s texture, so for this recipe, stick with canned or jarred pineapple juice.
- Dark brown sugar – A pantry favorite, dark brown sugar adds extra richness and deepens the sweetness of the brine. If you have regular brown sugar on hand, feel free to swap it in!
Other Cuts of Chicken
While cooking a whole huli huli chicken is traditional in Hawaii, feel free to use any cut of chicken for this recipe! The brining process works perfectly for thighs, breasts, or even wings. This is especially handy if you’re cooking for just one or two people and don’t need big portions. Depending on the cut, be sure to adjust the cooking time. For more detailed guidance, check out the Recipe Notes below.
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This huli huli chicken recipe is so easy – one of the reasons I love it so much!
It all comes down to two simple steps: soaking the chicken in a sweet-savory pineapple brine, then grilling it with indirect heat.
Make the pineapple brine. Whisk together pineapple juice, dark brown sugar, and a few tablespoons of kosher salt. If you like, add a little bit of ketchup – it gives the chicken a beautiful golden-orange color. Important! ⇢ Be sure to set aside 1 cup of the brining liquid for basting the chicken as it grills.
Place the halved spatchcock chicken in a bowl, resealable bag, or airtight container, then pour the remaining pineapple brine over it. Let the chicken soak for at least 12 hours or up to 2 days. Brining requires some advanced planning, but it’s absolutely worth it. Why? ⇢Brining is a simple way to add tons of flavor and moisture to the chicken, which makes it perfect for grilling. Think of it as a marinade that really seeps into the meat.
Set up your grill for indirect heat (also known as 2-zone grilling) by lighting one half of the grill and leaving the other half unlit. Why? ⇢ Lighting one side of the grill creates a hot zone, while the unlit side gives you a gentler, low-heat zone. This indirect heat zone is where the magic happens for this recipe!
A Few More Tips and Tricks for Grilling Huli Huli Chicken
Remove excess moisture. Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel before placing it on the grill to remove any extra moisture. This helps the chicken get nice and charred while preventing flare-ups.
Rotate frequently. After all, it’s huli huli chicken – turning is essential! Place the chicken over the indirect heat zone and rotate it about every 15 minutes until it’s juicy and charred. This should take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour, depending on your grill and the size of your chicken. An instant-read thermometer will help you know when it’s cooked through.
Baste as you go. After each rotation, baste the chicken with the reserved pineapple brine. This gives the huli huli chicken a gorgeous, slightly caramelized finish and extra flavor.
Alternate Cooking Methods
Grilling this huli huli chicken is my favorite, but if you don’t have an outdoor grill, no worries! You can also make it in the oven, smoker, or pellet grill. Check the Recipe Notes, below, for step-by-step guidance!
Mom’s Homemade Huli Huli Chicken Sauce
The grilled chicken is fantastic on its own, but drenching it in huli huli sauce takes everything to the next level.
My mom makes her sauce with ingredients similar to the chicken brine, plus a few other pantry staples to boost the flavor. It’s tangy, sweet, a little spicy, and SO delicious – like a super simple homemade pineapple BBQ sauce.
It couldn’t be easier to make…
Serving Suggestions
Once the chicken is grilled and the huli huli sauce is simmered, all that’s left to do is serve!
The most traditional way to serve grilled huli huli chicken is Hawaiian plate lunch-style, with big scoops of white rice and Hawaiian Mac Salad. The creamy mac salad offers a little palette cleanser to the tangy-sweet chicken, while sticky white rice soaks up all those flavorful juices and the huli huli sauce.
You can also serve it with a simple green salad, classic potato salad, or stir-fried noodles for more plate lunch-style goodness!
I can’t wait for you to try our Grilled Huli Huli Chicken! It’s so much easier to make at home than you’d ever imagine and Mom’s recipe tastes just like it does on the North Shore of Oahu. I know you’ll love it as much as we do.
If you do give it a try, be sure to let me know! Leave a comment with a star rating below. You can also snap a photo and tag @playswellwithbutter on Instagram. We LOVE seeing your PWWB creations! ♡ Happy cooking!
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Grilled Huli Huli Chicken (A Taste of Hawai’i At Home!)
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Overnight Brine: 12 hours
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: serves 4-6 1x
- Category: Main Dishes, Chicken Recipes
- Method: Grilling & Smoking
- Cuisine: Hawaiian, American
Description
No need for a fancy rotisserie or kiawe wood – you can make juicy, Grilled Huli Huli Chicken in your backyard with this at home version! Soak chicken halves in a sweet pineapple brine, grill it with indirect heat, and baste with more brine until the skin is crispy-charred and mimics the flavor you’d get from a traditional wood-fired rotisserie. Finish with Mom’s homemade huli huli sauce (a pineapple BBQ sauce) for an extra burst of tangy flavor, and serve with rice and mac salad for a true taste of Hawaii at home! 🌺🤙🏼
Ingredients
- 1 (one) 4-5 pound whole chicken, spatchcocked and halved
- 3 cups pineapple juice, canned or jarred (NOT fresh)
- 1/3 cup dark brown sugar (can sub regular brown sugar)
- optional, for color: 1 tablespoon ketchup
- kosher salt and ground black pepper, to season
- for serving, as desired: Mom’s huli huli sauce (below), rice, Hawaiian mac salad, etc.
Mom’s Huli Huli Sauce:
- 1 cup pineapple juice
- 1/4 cup dark brown sugar (can sub regular brown sugar)
- 2 teaspoons shoyu or soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- healthy pinch cayenne pepper
- kosher salt and ground black pepper, to season
Instructions
Huli Huli Chicken Prep: Spatchcocking is a poultry butchering technique in which the poultry’s spine is removed so the poultry lays completely flat during the cooking process, which facilitates faster and more even cooking. While you can ask your butcher to spatchcock the chicken for you, it’s also very simple to do at home with a pair of sharp kitchen shears. I like to spatchcock chicken a day before I plan on grilling it, leaving the chicken to soak a pineapple brine, which results in seriously juicy and flavorful grilled huli huli chicken. Here’s what you’ll do:
- Spatchcock and halve the chicken: Use paper towel to pat chicken very dry. Place breast-side down on a large plastic cutting board. Using very sharp kitchen shears, carefully snip along each side of the backbone, until completely detached. With breast side of the chicken still facing down, use your hands to gently stretch open the rib cavity of the chicken. Place the heel of your knife at the center of the wishbone. Forcefully press down until the wishbone snaps and the breastplate cracks. Flip the chicken so it lays flat, breast side facing up – you just spatchcocked a chicken! For grilled huli huli chicken, take it one step further, slicing between the breasts to create two halves. Be sure to tuck the wing tips behind the breasts, as pictured, to ensure they don’t burn as the chicken cooks. For step-by-step photos and more tips and tricks, be sure to check out PWWB’s How to Spatchcock a Chicken tutorial post.
- Brine the chicken: In a large bowl, whisk together the pineapple juice, brown sugar, ketchup (if using), and 2 tablespoons kosher salt. Transfer 1 cup of the brine to a small airtight container and reserve for basting. Place the halved chicken in a large bowl, airtight container, or resealable bag. Pour the remaining pineapple brine over top, submerging the chicken as much as possible. Cover or seal, then transfer to the refrigerator to brine for at least 12 hours and up to 48 hours.
Grilled Huli Huli Chicken:
- Grill prep: At least 60 minutes before grilling, take the brined chicken out of the refrigerator to allow it to come to room temperature before grilling. Remove the chicken from the brine, discard any excess brine, then use a paper towel to pat the chicken as dry as possible. Set aside. This is a great time to preheat the grill and prep the huli huli sauce (Step 2, below). Prepare your grill for indirect cooking, creating a zone of direct high heat and a second zone of indirect heat. If using a gas grill, begin preheating at least 15 minutes before grilling. If using charcoal, light the charcoal at least 30 minutes prior to grilling. (To learn more about zone grilling, be sure to check out this post.)
- Prepare the huli huli sauce: Add all listed ingredients to a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Season with 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and whisk to combine well. Once the huli huli sauce comes to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, stirring the sauce occasionally, for 20 minutes to reduce and thicken. Remove from the heat and set aside for serving.
- Grill the huli huli chicken: Place the chicken on the indirect heat side of the grill, breast side up, as close to the fire as possible without being over the direct heat. Close the grill lid. Cook the chicken, stopping to rotate it 180 degrees every 15 minutes. With each rotation, use a pastry brush to generously baste the surface of the chicken with the reserved pineapple brine from Step 2. The huli huli chicken is ready once an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the breast (without hitting the bone) registers a temperature of 160 degrees F. Depending on the size of your chicken and the temperature of your grill, this could take as little as 30 minutes or up to 1 hour.
- Rest the grilled huli huli chicken: Remove the huli huli chicken from the grill. Transfer to a large plate and set aside to rest for 5-10 minutes. Carryover heat will cause the internal temperature to continue to rise as it rests. The chicken is ready to serve once an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the chicken (without hitting the bone) registers a temperature of 165 degrees F.
- Serve: Carve the huli huli chicken as desired and serve immediately, drenched in huli huli sauce and paired with whatever sides you like. We like serving our huli huli chicken plate lunch-style, with white rice and Mom’s Hawaiian mac salad. Enjoy!
Notes
- Storage and Reheating: Leftover grilled huli huli chicken will keep, stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave until warmed through. Once you’ve enjoyed all of the chicken, sure to hang on to the grilled chicken carcass to make homemade chicken stock or broth!
- Recipe Variations and Alternate Cooking Methods:
- Other cuts of chicken: While whole chicken is the most common way you’ll find huli huli chicken in Hawaii, this recipe also works well using any cut of chicken you love most. Refer to the following recipes for guidance on grill temperatures and cook times:
- Bone-in, skin on chicken parts (e.g. huli huli chicken breasts/thighs, huli huli chicken drumsticks)
- Bonless, skinless chicken (e.g. huli huli chicken breasts/thighs)
- Huli huli chicken wings
- Oven roasted huli huli chicken: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F with a rack positioned in the center. Place the brined chicken in an oven-safe skillet or braiser. Transfer the skillet or braiser to the oven and roast 1 hour – 1 hour 10 minutes, rotating the chicken every 20 minutes and basting it with reserved brine with each rotation to promote even roasting and browning, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the breast registers an internal temperature of 160 degrees F. Finish the roasted huli huli chicken according to Recipe Directions, starting with step 4, above.
- Smoked huli huli chicken: Preheat your smoker or pellet grill to 350 degrees F. Place the brined chicken on the grates and cook 35-40 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the breast registers an internal temperature of 160 degrees F, basting the chicken every 15 minutes. Finish the smoked huli huli chicken according to Recipe Directions, starting with step 4, above.
- Other cuts of chicken: While whole chicken is the most common way you’ll find huli huli chicken in Hawaii, this recipe also works well using any cut of chicken you love most. Refer to the following recipes for guidance on grill temperatures and cook times:
- 25-Minute Meal Prep: While grilled huli huli chicken is a great weekend cooking project, there are a couple of things you can prep ahead of time to eliminate almost all active prep at dinnertime:
- Prep the huli huli sauce according to Step 4 of Recipe Directions, above. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. (10 minutes active prep)
- Spatchcock the chicken and brine in buttermilk according to Chicken Prep Steps 1-2, above, up to 2 days ahead of time. Store, covered in a large airtight container, in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. (15 minutes active prep)
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Made this with chicken breasts for an easier weeknight meal. Was easy and delicious flavors! I can’t wait to eat leftovers for lunch all week
Leftovers are the BEST! Thanks for the review, Steph!
Why have I never heard of this?! We’ve been to Hawaii at least 50 times, but never to Oahu. Maybe that’s it. Anyway, it seems perfect for a summer barbecue!
Thank you! Hope you give it a try soon! 🙂