Whole Grilled Chicken

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

Tips For Whole Grilled Chicken

The secret to perfectly grilled whole chicken is setting up your grill for indirect heat. Much like this roasted chicken recipe, the indirect heat method roasts the chicken to perfect doneness. Because the chicken isn’t over the flames, you won’t have to deal with flare-ups or burnt skin and underdone meat.

One step that I like to take when grilling a whole chicken is to dry brine it for 12-24 hours. Now, this isn’t a requirement but trust me when I say that you will thank me for suggesting it. You can learn more about dry brining over here, but it’s essentially sprinkling salt on meat and then leaving it for awhile. The salt mixes with the moisture from the meat and that salty wetness gets into the meat, making it more flavorful and more tender. You can see how dry brining a whole turkey works as well, which is a great method for Thanksgiving.

I kept the seasonings for this recipe very simple, but I have also included suggestions in the recipe card for some spice and herb combinations that will add some delicious variety to your grilled chicken adventures.

Using Indirect Heat

I mentioned that we will be using indirect heat to cook the chicken. This is the secret to eliminating flareups and inconsistently cooked chicken. Essentially, we are replicating how an oven cooks but with all of the benefits of using a grill. Like keeping the kitchen cool during the hot summer months. And let’s face it, it’s fun to cook outside!

To set up your grill for indirect cooking, follow the directions below. Quick note, before you place the chicken on the grilling grate, I do recommend that you place a drip pan under the grate to catch juices and fat that will be rendered during the cooking process. This is a huge help during cleanup.

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.

Preparing The Whole Chicken

• Remove the giblet package from the body cavity and/or neck. I like to freeze the neck to use it to make stock at a later time.
• Tie the legs together by wrapping cotton twine around the ankles, pull tight, tie off and cut any excess off.
• Tuck the wing tips under the body. Grab the wing tip, pull it toward the neck cavity, and tuck it under the body to secure.
• Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of kosher salt or 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of fine salt all over the bird, getting it under the skin and into cavities if possible. Allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes or put into the fridge on a rack set onto a baking sheet, uncovered, for 12-24 hours. Then allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before proceeding.
• Massage olive oil over the entire chicken.
• Season with pepper and/or use one of the seasoning blends suggested in the recipe.

Do I Need To Spatchcock Chicken Before Grilling?

You can if you’d like to, and it does cut down on cooking time, but it adds in the step of butterflying the chicken which not everyone is comfortable with. A spatchcock chicken means that you remove the backbone so that the chicken can be spread out and lay flatter.

You can read more about how to butterfly the chicken in my Sheet Pan Spatchcock Chicken Meal.

If you choose this method, here’s the timing adjustments for the grill. The chicken can be seasoned in the same way.

Place the spatchcocked chicken breast-side up on the grill over indirect heat.

Cook for 45 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165˚F. 

If you are particularly skilled at turning chicken and not getting the skin-stick, you can start breast-side down for the first 15 minutes of cooking and then turn and finishing the last 30 minutes breast-side up.

Grilling A Whole Chicken

Once the grill has reached 350˚F, place the chicken on the grill. For gas grills, you will place the chicken over the unlit burner(s) and for the charcoal grill, the chicken will be placed on the opposite side of the charcoal pile. Note: Keep an eye on the temperature and adjust as necessary.

Close the lid and cook for 1 to 1 and 1/2 hours or until an instant read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh (make sure it isn’t touching the bone) reads 165˚F. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and allow to rest for 10 minutes before carving. Get a step-by-step guide to perfectly carved chicken.

Oh, no! You forgot to pull the chicken out for the backyard BBQ? Have no fear, you can cook whole chicken from frozen safely. It may not have the grill marks, but it will be tender and juicy and is sure generate some great conversation.

More Amazing Grill Recipes

Podcast Episode On Grilling A Whole Chicken

This post originally appeared in July 2019 and was revised and republished in August 2023.