DESCRIPTION

With this recipe for whole grilled chicken, you won’t battle flare-ups or have burnt skin and undercooked meat.

Ingredients

Scale

1 (3 – 4 lb.) whole chicken, brined for at least 8 hours (brining is optional, but delicious)
1 Tbsp. kosher salt (or 1 and 1/2 tsp. fine salt)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. ground black pepper

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Instructions

Remove chicken from packaging and remove giblets from the body cavity and/or neck.
Truss legs and tuck wings under the back of the chicken.
Sprinkle chicken all over with salt, getting it under the skin and into cavities where possible. Allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes (Or, to dry brine, after salting put chicken onto a rack on a baking sheet, uncovered, in the fridge for 12-24 hours. Then allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before grilling). Prepare grill as instructed in notes below.
Massage olive oil over the breast, legs, wings, and back of the chicken.
Season all over with pepper.
Place over indirect heat on the grill and cook for 1 to 1 and 1/2 hours or until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, without touching the bone, reads 165˚F.
Transfer to a cutting board and allow to rest for 10 minutes before carving.

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Notes

Prepping the Grill for Indirect Heat
Three Burner Gas Grill – turn the left and right burners to medium and ignite. Leave the center burner off. Place the drip pan over the non-lit burner under the grate. You’ll place the chicken in the center over the non-lit burner
Four Burner Gas Grill – turn the two left burners to medium and ignite. Leave the two right burners off. Place the drip pan over the non-lit burners under the grate. You’ll place the chicken in the center of the two burners that are off.
Charcoal Grill – light the charcoal using a chimney lighter. Pour the charcoal out of the chimney and push over to one side of the grill. Leave the other side free of coals. Place the drip pan on the non-charcoal side under the grate. You’ll place the chicken on the side of the grill with no charcoal.

Optional Spice Blends

Jamaican Jerk Spice Seasoning
1 and 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. sweet paprika
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. allspice
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
pinch of cayenne pepper

Mexican Spice Seasoning
1 and 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. ground chipotle

Lemon Herb Rub
1 and 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. lemon pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. fresh thyme leaves
1 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary