Baked BBQ Chicken Bone In
Bake moist, tender, and delicious BBQ Chicken using bone-in-leg quarters. Our easy recipe has only 5 ingredients.

Once May rolls around on the calendar and temps begin to rise outside we like to fire up the grill and make some recipes that make us think of BBQ season. No need for higher temps with this barbeque Chicken leg quarters recipe! It’s oven-baked and you can enjoy this meal year-round.
Here in the south, we love our barbeque. This Crockpot BBQ Chicken Wings recipe has been shared over 200 thousand times. But one of our favorite ways to enjoy a good BBQ meal is by making Slow Cooker Pulled Pork like this.
Let’s get those lips smacking as we discuss making this delectable delight known as BBQ Chicken! Printable recipe below.
This article contains affiliate links. Please see our Disclosure Policy.
How to prepare chicken for cooking
Rinse the chicken under cool water running on low. If you turn the water on high, the splatter will get all over the place. I cannot bring myself to cook chicken without rinsing it off first but I know if you are not careful you can splatter germs all over the kitchen. So, be cautious about the water pressure when rinsing the chicken. Then be sure to clean the area afterward.
Ingredients
- 3 chicken leg quarters
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 Tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 Cup BBQ sauce (I use Sweet Baby Rays)
Recipe
This recipe for baked B-B-Q chicken leg quarters is super simple and easy to whip up. All of the ingredients are available at the local grocery store.
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 375°.
Begin by placing your prepared leg quarters into an Iron skillet. The standard size of Iron Skillets is 10 to 12 inches. You can eyeball it and know if your chicken will fit in yours.
Don’t have an Iron Skillet? No Problem. Use a baking pan lined with foil. Then buy yourself an Iron skillet, you will love the food cooked in it! I like this one!

Step 2 Seasoning the chicken leg quarters
We do not go overboard on the seasoning with our Baked BBQ Chicken Leg Quarters because the BBQ Sauce does all the heavy lifting for the flavor in this chicken. Salt, Pepper and Paprika are all I use.
Season the chicken and place it into a preheated oven at 375°. Bake uncovered for about 25 minutes.

Step 3
Then remove the iron skillet from the oven. Pour off all but just a very small amount, about 2 Tbsp. of the liquid that has accumulated.
This is the fat from the chicken. We do want a little bit in the skillet to help our baked BBQ chicken come out nice and moist.

Step 4 Begin basting the chicken with Barbeque sauce
Turn the chicken over skin side down and baste the back with your favorite BBQ Sauce.
So, when you put the chicken back into the oven the skin on the top is now on the bottom and it is going to get crispy.
Bake for about 10 more minutes then remove from the oven.

Baste again
Now turn the chicken back over using tongs, and you will see the nice, crispy skin side up. It’s time to baste the top the first time.

Baste the top of the chicken generously with BBQ Sauce and again return to the oven for 10 minutes.

Baste the top of the chicken once more
Remove from the oven and baste the third and final time. Return to the oven for 15 minutes. Check the Baked BBQ Chicken with a meat thermometer to ensure it is done. Internal temp should reach 165° for chicken.
Last Step Broil to crisp the skin
If you are like me and you’d like the skin of your chicken to have just a touch of char, place it on the top oven rack and broil for just a few minutes. Please don’t leave, this won’t take long so keep an eye on it.
All you have left to do now is sit down and enjoy your baked BBQ chicken!
Oven Baked BBQ Chicken Leg Quarters
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 Chicken Leg Quarters
- 1 tsp. Salt
- 1/2 tsp. Pepper
- 1 Tbsp. Smoked Paprika
- 1 Cup BBQ Sauce I use Sweet Baby Ray’s
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°
- Place your prepared leg quarters into an Iron skillet skin side up.
- Season with salt and pepper then the Paprika
- Place into the preheated oven.
- Bake, uncovered for 25 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and turn the leg quarters over. Pour off all but about 2 Tbsp. of the juice.
- Baste the back side with your favorite BBQ sauce.
- Return to the oven for 10 more minutes.
- Remove from the oven and turn the chicken leg quarters back over so the skin side is up.
- Baste with BBQ Sauce and return to the oven for 10 more minutes.
- Remove from the oven and baste one more time with BBQ sauce. Return to the oven and bake 10 more minutes.
- Your Baked BBQ Leg quarters should be done. Use a meat thermometer to check. Internal temp should reach 165° for chicken.
- If you want a nice little char on the top turn on the broiler and move the rack closer. Place the skillet on the top rack and stay right there! It only takes a couple of minutes.
Notes
Nutrition

Side dishes for BBQ Chicken
- Homemade Creamy Cole Slaw with only a few ingredients and no chopping
- Make these delicious Homestyle Oven Baked French fries that taste fried
- You could skip the french fries and make Homemade Mashed potatoes
- Crockpot Macaroni and Cheese goes great with BBQ
- A must-have side dish with BBQ is BBQ Baked Beans, fully loaded

New Recipes are a must but the old ones are keepers too! See these must-have recipes for BBQ Season:
- 3 Ingredient Crockpot BBQ Chicken Wings
- 5 Ingredient Steak Marinade
- Honey Sweet Peach Mango Salsa
- 10 Kabob Recipes To Try This Summer


Those leg quarters look awesome! And I’m not usually a leg quarter person. I am totally drooling over that coating of sauce, too.