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Home Collections BBQ Recipes

Huli Huli Chicken (Hawaiian Tropical Chicken)

By:Nagi
Published:3 Jul '20Updated:8 Apr '21
139 Comments
Recipe v Video v Dozer v

Huli Huli Chicken – you can’t miss the tropical flavours in this Hawaiian chicken dish! A pineapple marinade with plenty of fresh ginger and garlic injects sweet-savoury flavour and makes for an excellent glaze. Brilliant BBQ grilled or pan seared.

Serve it up with a side of pineapple rice or macaroni salad as you hula dance your way to the table (you won’t be able to help it! 🤷🏻‍♀️)

Close up of Hawaiian Huli Huli Chicken with grilled pineapples

Huli Huli Chicken – tropical food!

There’s just no chance that you cook this without doing a little hula dance.

It’s the vibe. It’s the smell. It’s the satisfying dripping, shiny glaze, the caramelised edges, the anticipation of the smiles and sheer happiness on the faces of those fortunate enough to eat this.

This is just the sort of food that just makes everyone happy! Tropical food has that way about it, don’t you think??

So just give in to the temptation – and swish those hips!!

“Huli” means “turn” in Hawaiian, and refers to the traditional method of cooking this with a grilling basket, turning it over hot coals.

Platter of Hawaiian Huli Huli Chicken with macaroni salad on the side
Platter of Huli Huli Hawaiian chicken pictured with macaroni salad.

 Hawaiian Huli Huli chicken marinade

This tropical recipe is all about the marinade – and there’s two key secret ingredients here:

  1. pineapple juice – for tropical flavour and sweet. Tip: use the juice from canned pineapple slices, and use the pineapple for garnish, as pictured! Must use long shelf life pineapple juice, not fresh – see note below; and

  2. sherry – or Chinese cooking wine or Mirin. I’ve made it with and without – with knocks it out of the park. Don’t skip it! (Non alcoholic sub – chicken stock. Yup, really.)

IMPORTANT NOTE about pineapple juice: do not use fresh pineapple juice sold in the fridge, or puree your own using fresh pineapple. Fresh pineapple contains a strong natural tenderiser that will make your chicken way too soft. That natural chemical (called bromelain) is killed in the process of preparing pineapple juice for long shelf life, so use any form of pineapple juice sold in aisles (ie not in fridge) – juice of canned, vac packed juice (poppers or similar) or bottles.

Hawaiian Huli Huli Chicken marinade ingredients

How long to marinade chicken

3 hours is the bare minimum, but you’ll be most rewarded with 24 hours – even up to 48 hours – so the marinade really gets into the chicken flesh.

However, if you don’t have the time, 3 hours is enough to get the flavour infusion started, then just do extra generous basting.

Hawaiian Huli Huli Chicken marinade

How to make Huli Huli Chicken

Nothing groundbreaking here – marinade the chicken, reserve some for basting, cook the chicken on the BBQ or stove, basting frequently so you get a lovely glaze.

Why reserve for basting? For hygiene reasons – because the marinade gets tainted with raw chicken. You can baste using the used marinade, but you have to cook the basted side for 1 1/2 – 2 minutes after each baste. Which, for this particular recipe, doesn’t work because we want to baste-flip-baste-flip frequently. (Same for any other chicken marinade you want to baste frequently, like the Honey Soy Chicken I shared last week).

How to make Hawaiian Huli Huli Chicken

Plate of Hawaiian Huli Huli Chicken

Tropical sides for Huli Huli Chicken!

Here’s a few suggestions for on-theme dishes to serve on the side. Think – fresh, juicy, lime, coconut, mango, colourful! (Tip: Thai and Vietnamese flavours are very suited to Tropical theme menus)

  • Pineapple fried rice from last week – which I actually shared in anticipation of this recipe. Not only is it tropical, you can use the juice from a can of pineapple pieces to make this recipe, and the pineapple to make the rice. Though in this case, I use a can of pineapple slices – juice for the marinade, grilled the slices for garnish, as pictured.

  • More starchy sides – Coconut lime rice, Prawn mango summer salad (skip the prawns if you want),

  • Corn avocado salad, grilled corn, Cowboy bean salad, vermicelli noodle salad, cucumber salad

  • Warm weather favourites – potato salad, coleslaw, macaroni

Plate of Pineapple Fried Rice (Thai) ready to be served
Pineapple Fried Rice (Thai)
Coconut Cilantro Lime Rice in a bowl with a spoon, ready to be served.
Coconut Coriander/Cilantro Lime Rice
Close up of Corn Salad with Avocado with a Lime dressing
Corn Salad with Avocado
Close up overhead photo of Prawn Mango Avocado Summer Salad with Lime Dressing in a bowl, ready to be served
Prawn Mango Avocado Summer Salad
This Prawn Mango and Avocado Salad with Noodles is perfect for balmy summer days. Great no cook meal! recipetineats.com
Thai Prawn, Mango and Avocado Noodle Salad
South Western lime dressing for Cowboy Bean Salad
Cowboy Bean Salad with Lime Dressing
Close up of a refreshing Cucumber Salad with a tasty Herb & Garlic Dressing
Cucumber Salad with Herb Garlic Vinaigrette
Close up of Macaroni Salad with Creamy Dressing in a white bowl.
Macaroni Salad
Close up photo of Red Potato Salad with bacon and corn
Red Potato Salad with Bacon and Corn (no mayo!)
Close up of juicy Coleslaw in a glass bowl
Coleslaw
Bowl of freshly made potato salad
The Best Potato Salad

And lastly, just in case you’re eyeing off this Huli Huli chicken in anticipation of a big tropical feast, here are a few desserts and drink suggestions!

Dessert ideas

This No Bake Mango Cheesecake is a complete and utter celebration of summer! recipetineats.com
No Bake Mango Cheesecake
Close up of slice of Strawberry Cheesecake with Strawberry Sauce dripping down the side
Strawberry Cheesecake
Two ice cream cones with mango ice cream held in a hand.
Homemade Mango Ice Cream Recipe (No Ice Cream Maker!)
Creamy No Churn Strawberry Ice Cream in a small white dish topped with fresh strawberries, ready to be eaten
Strawberry Ice Cream (No Churn)
Lemon Cake with drippy lemon glaze decorated with lemon slices and flowers, on a white cake platter with a piece cut out
Lemon Cake with Lemon Glaze
Close up of Pavlova topped with cream and berries
Pavlova!!
Easy and fast No Bake Blueberry Cheesecake Bars - creamy cheesecake with a gorgeous fresh blueberry sauce topping! recipetineats.com
Blueberry Cheesecake Bars
Made this for a birthday party, everyone was floored by how "velvety" and soft the sponge is. And the frosting is just perfect! Easy to follow steps, concisely written!
Sweet

Cocktails for Tropical Parties!

Celebration Fruit Punch (holiday punch recipe)
Celebration Fruit Punch
Frozen Mango Daquiris in cocktail glasses, garnished with strawberries.
Mango Daiquiri & Tales from a MANGO FARM!!
3 Margaritas with salt rim and lime slice
Margaritas!!!
Two Tequila Sunrise cocktails by a pool, garnished with orange slice and maraschino cherries ready to drink
Tequila Sunrise
Close up of Frozen Strawberry Daiquiris by the pool - best summer cocktail!
Frozen Strawberry Daiquiri!!
Cocktail recipes - RecipeTin Eats
Cocktails

Enjoy! – Nagi x


Watch how to make it

 

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Close up of Hawaiian Huli Huli Chicken with grilled pineapples

Huli Huli Chicken (Tropical Hawaiian chicken)

Author: Nagi
Prep: 10 minutes mins
Cook: 12 minutes mins
Marinating: 1 day d
BBQ/Grilling, Mains
Hawaiian, Tropical!
5 from 40 votes
Servings5 - 6 people
Tap or hover to scale
Print
Recipe video above. There's just no chance you make this without doing a little hula dance… swish those hips!!! Traditional Hawaiian recipe with in-your-face tropical flavours. Sweet, savoury, very sticky! Best 24 - 48 hr marinade, but you can get away with 3 hrs but baste extra generously.
IMPORTANT: Do not use pureed fresh pineapple or fresh, pure pineapple juice from the fridge - it will over tenderise chicken, see Note 2. Use any pineapple juice sold in the aisles, not fridge - can, bottle or vac packed.

Ingredients

  • 1.5 kg / 3 lb chicken thighs (or breast, Note 1)
  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil

Marinade:

  • 3/4 cup pineapple juice, canned or bottled (NOT FRESH!) , unsweetened (Note 2)
  • 1 1/2 tbsp ginger , freshly grated (Note 3)
  • 1 1/2 tbsp garlic , freshly grated (Note 3)
  • 1/2 cup tomato ketchup (or Aussie tomato sauce)
  • 1/2 cup soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup sherry or Chinese cooking wine (Note 4)
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp Sriracha
  • 2 tbsp rice vinegar (or cider vinegar)
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil , toasted

Garnishes, optional:

  • Sliced green onion
  • Pineapple slices , grilled for 3 minutes on each side for lines

Instructions

Marinade:

  • Mix marinade, set aside 3/4 cup (185 ml) for basting.
  • Pour the rest over the chicken in a glass or ceramic container (not metal or plastic), coat chicken then marinade 24 - 48 hours.

Cooking:

  • Brush BBQ grills with oil then preheat to medium high, or heat oil in a skillet over medium high heat.
  • Drain excess marinade from chicken, place on BBQ/skillet.
  • Cook the first side for 2 - 3 minutes until golden (adjust heat if browning too fast), then flip and cook for 2 minutes.
  • Baste (dab) generously with reserved marinade, then flip and cook for 1 minute.
  • Repeat this every minute or so for a total cook time of 10 minutes, or until internal temp in the thickest part registers 75°C/167°F (for thigh) or 65°C / 150°F (for breast).
  • Transfer chicken to a plate, loosely cover with foil and rest for 3 minutes before serving, garnished with green onion if desired.

Recipe Notes:

1. Chicken - boneless thigh is best for lovely caramelisation when cooked, but breast is very good too.
2. Pineapple juice - must use canned or bottled/vac packed from aisle, not the fridge. DO NOT use real, fresh pineapple juice (ie fridge bottle, unsweetened) or puree fresh pineapple - pineapple contains a very strong tenderiser which will over tenderise the chicken (the tenderising agent gets killed when canned or bottled with long shelf life).
PRO TIP: Use a can of sliced pineapple in natural juice (unsweetened). 1 430g/14oz can has almost exactly 3/4 cup of juice, then I use the slices for garnish. (Golden Circle pineapple slices in natural juice - Australia).
If your can is slightly short on juice, that's ok - use whatever you can extract (as long as you have 1/2 cup or so, that's enough).
If you can only get sweetened juice, reduce sugar by half. If you can only get canned pineapple slices in syrup, skip the sugar completely.
Alternative: Use a can of pineapple PIECES and use the pieces to make pineapple fried rice, excellent side dish for this. Double duty!
3. Ginger/garlic grating tip - if you have a microplane, use that with unpeeled ginger and garlic. As you grate, the skin just kind of naturally peels to the side, leaving you with just the flesh grated.
Jar paste will work fine too but for this recipe, the fresh ginger flavour really does make it special.
4. Sherry or Chinese cooking wine (Shaoxing wine) - the secret ingredient that makes this extra good. I've tried it with and without - and the difference is noticeable.
SUBSTITUTES: Mirin (reduce sugar by 1 tbsp), low sodium chicken stock (increase to 1/2 cup).
5. Nutrition per serving, assuming 6 servings. Assumed half the marinade ended up on or in the chicken - in reality it's probably less. Reduce sodium by using low salt soy and ketchup.

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 377cal (19%)Carbohydrates: 8g (3%)Protein: 49g (98%)Fat: 15g (23%)Saturated Fat: 5g (31%)Cholesterol: 238mg (79%)Sodium: 912mg (40%)Potassium: 680mg (19%)Fiber: 1g (4%)Sugar: 6g (7%)Vitamin A: 111IU (2%)Vitamin C: 3mg (4%)Calcium: 31mg (3%)Iron: 2mg (11%)
Keywords: chicken marinade, hawaiian chicken, huli huli chicken, pineapple marinade, tropical food
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @recipe_tin.

Life of Dozer

There was just never going to be any other photo for today’s recipe. 😂

Dozer-lei-hawaiian-flower_2

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Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative!

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139 Comments

  1. Margaret says

    December 2, 2023 at 4:03 am

    5 stars
    I made this in a skillet, and I think I was being lazy about basting so when it was time to baste I just poured all the leftover marinade from the bag onto the chicken in the skillet. Maybe I didn’t read the instructions closely, I don’t know, but the end result was a super delicious sauce that I could serve over rice with my chicken! I realized later I did it wrong but I don’t think I would do it any other way because the sauce was amazing!! Thank you for the recipe.

    Reply
  2. Paul says

    August 29, 2023 at 8:43 pm

    WOW, I followed the recipe exactly (once I have made a recipe a few times I like to experiment a little, but strangely not from your site!) and this has become our new favorite summer BBQ dish awesome!

    Reply
  3. Emma Murphy says

    August 19, 2023 at 8:26 am

    Could you prepare to the marinade step, freeze, defrost and then cook?

    Reply
  4. LL says

    August 11, 2023 at 7:08 am

    5 stars
    My kids went back for seconds! Major win! I accidentally forgot the pineapple juice and it was still delicious! I may actually prefer it that way, but I’m a big fan of zingy, savory flavors. I also made up less chicken, and used some of the marinade on veggies. Served with the macaroni salad you recommended and yum!!!

    Reply
  5. ImStillaYankee says

    July 17, 2023 at 12:01 am

    5 stars
    Recipe is amazing (how could it not be with those ingredients!?) but Dozer made my day. Looks like he could be my Maximus’ brother!

    Reply
  6. Jaclynn says

    May 21, 2023 at 10:20 am

    5 stars
    Marinated this a bit less than called for (about 17 hours, instead of 24) but kept everything else just the same and it was wonderful. I bet the full marinade time would make it even better (hard to imagine really though, everyone raved about it)!

    Reply
  7. Laura says

    April 20, 2023 at 1:42 am

    5 stars
    Fabulous chicken recipe! I made this last night along with the macaroni salad. Used the juice from a can of pineapple tidbits and served some of the pineapple pieces on top of the chicken. It was a huge hit! The only change I’d make is to set aside more of the marinade to pour over the rice and chicken when serving.

    Reply
  8. Baltisraul says

    January 8, 2023 at 1:00 am

    5 stars
    Finally a chef that uses pineapple juice and dry sherry in the marinade! This recipe is the BOMB! We love Huli Huli and have made it for years. Now I know we are making it the correct way! Thanks so much.

    Reply
  9. Stacie Thompson says

    August 31, 2022 at 5:08 am

    5 stars
    Since Hawaiian Bros has opened up here in North Texas we’ve been looking for a good recipe……..And we found this one! It’s Perfect!!
    We made this Sunday 8/28 on the grill and it’s so tender and yummy. It’s perfect over rice with a little extra sauce. Can’t wait to try more of your recipes.

    Reply
  10. April says

    August 14, 2022 at 5:01 am

    5 stars
    Way yummy! I was going to marinate for 24 hours but it ended up being 48 hours. The chicken was tender and juicy and oh so flavorful. I cooked it on our grill just as the recipe called for. Perfect! Made your macaroni salad to go along side. Fantastic recipe!

    Reply
  11. Karen says

    May 16, 2022 at 12:39 am

    Looks yummy. So glad you post substitute notes.
    Hugs to Dozer

    Reply
  12. Pat Pingle says

    April 15, 2022 at 7:46 am

    love your recipes do not BBQ-can stove oven be used

    Reply
  13. Daniel Cook says

    April 13, 2022 at 1:02 pm

    I only have an oven, and want to make enough for 20-30 people. Can I bake at 425 and then finish under the broiler?
    Thank you, and you rock.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      April 13, 2022 at 1:45 pm

      We do these in the oven at RecipeTin Meals so yes you can! It’s best to sear first in a pan in batches and then finish in the oven but if you can’t do that then I would broil it to get the colour. Just be careful not to dry them out! N x

      Reply
  14. Tegan says

    January 31, 2022 at 8:47 pm

    5 stars
    This was delicious Nagi. Also made your mango chicken curry and coq a vin and they were all fantastic! It’s been a busy week cooking!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      February 1, 2022 at 10:11 am

      Great job Tegan!! Giving that kitchen a workout! N x

      Reply
  15. David Howard says

    January 20, 2022 at 5:09 pm

    Hi Nagi,
    You are my “go to” for almost any recipes…but… chicken, whether breast or thights, MUST be cooked to 74c/165f internal temperature.

    Reply
    • Lora says

      August 17, 2023 at 6:00 am

      Actually:
      “Pasteurization of chicken is obtained by reaching 165° or by holding chicken at 145° for 8-1/2 minutes. Both of these methods kill harmful bacteria like salmonella and E. coli. That’s why you may see some sous vide recipes that call for cooking chicken at lower temperatures. That said, you should use the USDA recommended temperature minimum of 165° if you have any concerns about food safety or if you’re feeding an at-risk population.”

      Reply
  16. Ian Duffield says

    January 16, 2022 at 5:11 am

    5 stars
    We have just done this recipe and had with rice and peas and Mango & Pineapple Salsa. Mmm mmm mmm very nice.

    Reply
  17. Tony Jae says

    September 21, 2021 at 12:57 pm

    why is it not recommended to use a plastic container for marinating?

    Reply
  18. Su says

    September 16, 2021 at 7:42 am

    Thanks for the lovely recipe!
    In place of Chinese cooking wine, can I use Mirin / Sake?

    Reply
    • tom says

      December 25, 2021 at 9:58 am

      It’s listed in the notes

      Reply
  19. Kerry says

    September 7, 2021 at 6:42 am

    5 stars
    I cooked this for a crowd on the weekend and served with your Pineapple fried rice. Really yummy and everyone loved it 😍

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      September 7, 2021 at 1:37 pm

      Perfect Kerry!!! N x

      Reply
  20. Christy says

    August 17, 2021 at 4:01 am

    Quite possibly the best chicken I have ever made! The results were beyond outstanding! Do yourself a favor and make this! I did marinate for the recommended 48 hours and it was worth it. Served this with the pineapple fried rice from this site and everyone devoured both!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      August 17, 2021 at 12:03 pm

      Perfect Christy, sounds like you absolutely nailed it!! N x

      Reply
      • Maria says

        August 23, 2021 at 11:20 am

        Hi both, if to be cooked in the oven, at what temp and for how long should I cook it for please? Thanks so much!

        Reply
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I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

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