In partnership with Safeway
It’s hard to believe that Memorial Day is almost here– but it marks the beginning of “traditional” grilling season and I hope you have your grills ready! For the holiday this year, we’re throwing back to some easy, traditional favorites on the Traeger and are looking forward to time spent with family and friends.
Our celebration this year centers around BBQ chicken thighs that are accompanied with grilled corn with a lemon pepper compound butter, honey glazed watermelon and quick and easy garlic bread. Everything comes together in under an hour and thanks to Safeway’s FreshPass subscription, all the ingredients were conveniently delivered to our doorstep. No need for menu planning for Memorial Day– we’ve got the whole thing outlined here (shopping list included)!
MEMORIAL DAY IS A TIME FOR GATHERING
In a lot of America, Memorial Day marks the beginning of summer, of lazy evenings in the backyard and splashy afternoons at the neighborhood pool. It’s also the traditional start of BBQ season, where homes across the country dig out their dusty grills from garage storage and hot dogs sizzle away. And while we love hot dogs (my twin toddlers are currently obsessed), the opportunity to elevate a Memorial Day meal on the grill is a great chance to expand your grilling skills. This All-American BBQ feast is the perfect way to do it.
So send some text messages to invite your friends and family and in about an hour you’ll have an incredible all-grilled meal to enjoy with loved ones.
SAFEWAY MAKES IT SIMPLE
As we started thinking about our menu, we sat down on the couch and pulled up the Safeway Deals & Delivery App on our phone. We’re members of the FreshPass subscription which offers unlimited free delivery on orders over $35. With two toddlers at home and the end of the school year coming in fast, a trip to the grocery store wasn’t high on our priority list and so ordering groceries for delivery meant we could do things with our family and invite friends over for the holiday. A few simple clicks, we selected a delivery time and knew that our groceries would be picked and packed by a personal shopper and those groceries would end up on our doorstep with little effort from us.
So we started our order with all the things we needed for these recipes, especially BBQ Chicken Thighs, and then added a few items to make our lives even easier– like milk for the kiddos!
SEASONAL PRODUCE TO HIGHLIGHT
In clicking through the Safeway Deals & Delivery App, we saw all sorts of great deals thanks to the Safeway for U® program that provides great deals and discounts on things that we use regularly or are seasonal highlights. As summer is kicking into high gear, there are so many great seasonal produce options and we were excited to get some of those things on the grill!
The first thing that jumped out was bicolor corn on the cob, fresh off the fields and in our local store. We knew those would be amazing when cooked on the Traeger and served with a flavorful compound butter. We added corn to our order and kept shopping.
Mini seedless watermelon were also on sale and looked like a fun addition to our all-American meal. So we added one of those to the cart along with some limes. Combining honey and fresh lime juice as a glaze for grilled watermelon is one of our favorite easy hacks for summertime.
EVERYTHING ELSE WE NEEDED FOR BBQ CHICKEN THIGHS
Having shopped at Safeway a lot (and rarely ever actually stepping in the store), we have myriad products in our fridge and pantry and we knew we had most of what we needed to make a BBQ-insipred marinade for bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs. We added a value pack of Signature Farms chicken thighs to the order, picked out a great Signature Select Southern Style Whiskey BBQ sauce and a loaf of store-made bakery garlic bread.
EASY WITH DELIVERY
A few clicks later and we had completed our order, selected a delivery window and knew that the next morning our groceries would be delivered right from our local Safeway store to our door. Easy as that! BBQ chicken thighs, grilled corn and glazed watermelon are on the menu and will soon be on our plates!
Grocery delivery from Safeway 
All the ingredients for dinner delivered
PRIMARY INGREDIENTS
- Signature Farms bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- Signature Select Southern Style Whiskey BBQ sauce
- Bakery Garlic Bread
- Bicolor Sweet Corn on the Cob
- Mini Seedless Watermelon
- Cilantro
- Green onions
- Limes
- Honey
- Lucerne Butter
- Signature Select Lemon Pepper
- Signature Select Soy Sauce
- Signature Select Brown Sugar
- Signature Select White Wine Vinegar
- Signature Select Louisiana Hot Sauce
- Signature Select Dijon Mustard
- Waterfront Bistro Cocktail Sauce (or ketchup)
WHY BBQ CHICKEN THIGHS AND FIXIN’S ON THE TRAEGER WORKS
This is a great recipe to highlight how an entire meal can be cooked up on your Traeger grill with little effort and minimal time. In under an hour, you can marinate the BBQ chicken thighs, grill them and cook up grilled corn and glazed watermelon and get everything on the table. Paired with the simplicity of Safeway’s FreshPass subscription, it really is so easy to eat at home because grocery delivery takes lots of the effort out of a family meal!
STEP-BY-STEP
- In a pan or shallow dish, make the marinade for the chicken.
- Combine the soy sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, hot sauce, mustard and cocktail sauce (or ketchup) and whisk well.
- Add about 1/4 a cup of water and whisk until well combined.
- Pat the chicken thighs dry with a paper towel and then place them in the marinade.
- Turn to coat.
- Cover the pan and refrigerate the chicken for 20 minutes.
- Preheat your Traeger grill to 325*.
- Meanwhile, make the compound butter by combining the softened butter with the lemon pepper seasoning.
- Slice the watermelon into rounds, tidy up the corn leaving the husks intact and soak the corn in room temp water.
- In a bowl, combine the honey and juice of one lime and whisk well.
- Chop the cilantro and slice the green onions on a bias and set aside.
- When the grill is hot, remove the chicken thighs from the marinade and place them directly on the grill.
- Close the lid and cook the chicken for about 20 minutes.
- Check the internal temperature and continue cooking until the temperature reaches about 135*.
- Add the corn to the grill and continue cooking everything.
- Brush the chicken with some of the Signature Select Southern Style Whiskey BBQ Sauce.
- Turn up the temperature of the grill to 375*.
- Brush the watermelon slices with the honey/lime mixture and place them on the grill.
- Turn the watermelon a few times to caramelize all over.
- Add the garlic bread to the grill to heat through.
- When the chicken has reached an internal temperature of 170*, remove them from the grill.
- Remove the other dishes from the grill and assemble a big platter.
- Pull back the husks from the corn and put a big dollop of compound butter on each.
- Sprinkle the BBQ chicken thighs with green onions and the watermelon with chopped cilantro.
- Serve and enjoy!
Marinate the chicken before grilling Grilling the chicken thighs 
Brush with BBQ sauce
ALTERNATE RECIPES/PRODUCT LINKS
Here are some other great grilled chicken recipes to consider for your own Memorial Day feast:
- Smoked-Fried Chicken Wings
- Grilled Lemonade Chicken
- Maple-mustard chicken thighs
- Roasted chicken with garlic, lemon and chiles
Products used in this cook:
- Safeway FreshPass Subscription – online ordering, in-store shopper and unlimited free delivery over $30. We used the doorstep delivery option, which allowed us to order from the couch and have everything– including milk for the kids– delivered the next morning to our front step. It’s the ultimate convenience for busy parents who love to cook!
- Traeger Ironwood XL
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Leave a review below or snap a photo,
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BBQ Chicken Thighs on the Traeger
Equipment
- Shallow pan or dish
- Whisk
- Traeger grill
- Instant read thermometer
- Basting brush
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Signature Farms bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
- 1 cup Signature Select Southern Style Whiskey BBQ sauce
- 2 green onions
- 1/2 cup Signature Select Soy Sauce
- 1/2 cup Signature Select Brown Sugar
- 1/4 cup Signature Select White Wine Vinegar
- 1/4 cup Signature Select Louisiana Hot Sauce
- 1/4 cup Signature Select Dijon Mustard
- 1/4 cup Waterfront Bistro Cocktail Sauce or ketchup
Instructions
- In a pan or shallow dish, make the marinade for the chicken.
- Combine the soy sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, hot sauce, mustard and cocktail sauce (or ketchup) and whisk well.
- Add about 1/4 a cup of water and whisk until well combined.
- Pat the chicken thighs dry with a paper towel and then place them in the marinade.
- Turn to coat.
- Cover the pan and refrigerate the chicken for 20 minutes.
- Preheat your Traeger grill to 325*.
- Slice the green onions on a bias and set aside.
- When the grill is hot, remove the chicken thighs from the marinade and place them directly on the grill.
- Close the lid and cook the chicken for about 20 minutes.
- Check the internal temperature and continue cooking until the temperature reaches about 135*.
- Brush the chicken with some of the Signature Select Southern Style Whiskey BBQ Sauce.
- Turn up the temperature of the grill to 375*.
- When the chicken has reached an internal temperature of 170*, remove them from the grill.
- Sprinkle the BBQ chicken thighs with green onions and the watermelon with chopped cilantro.
- Serve and enjoy!
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