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Help! Best way to grill a whole chicken?

18 years ago

I've got a gas grill, I bought a whole chicken on sale today at the supermarket, and I don't want to turn on the oven. I've never done this before, so I'd like some helpful hints or suggestions. Thanks!

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Comments (9)

Terri_PacNW
18 years ago
Here you go...recipe revisited.:o)..click on the link in the OP, it'll give you even more ideas.

I just love doing chicken this way!

Here is a link that might be useful: Smokey BBQ
User
18 years ago
I roast chickens on the gas grill all the time. The easiest way is to turn your grill on and get it hot and then place the chicken on one side and turn that side off. Close the lid and the chicken will roast with indirect heat. I prefer high heat. The hotter the grill the quicker the chickens will cook.

If you want to make gravy, than place the chicken in a small roasting pan over indirect heat.

Ann
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It seems to me that turning down the fire and cooking the meat longer would be the simplest suggestion. That should resolve your issue, unless you are already cooking with the heat lower. Then, maybe you are getting flareups? Possibly with the lid down and aren't noticing them (flareups) and they are charring your meat before the inside cooks. Is this a newer grill? Maybe one of the newer Charbroils that don't have many (if any) briquettes? Maybe it is an older grill that has a cracked burner? I have an older Sunbeam that, once it heated up, a large flame would come out of one part of the burner that was damaged and would cook very quickly in that one place. You might examine the grill and it's components and make sure you don't have a situation like this occuring. It seems to me that with the results you are getting, it has to be because of too much fire too quickly. So, either you are haveing flareups that are going unattended, the burner has a crack in it (causing a very hot spot), or you are just cooking on too high of heat. Once you get the heat problem figured out, you might consider investing in one of those meat thermometer forks. I bought one a couple of years ago from K-Mart on clearance for $5.00. It has been a great investment and works very good to get your meat at just the right doneness. I hope this helps. Good luck.
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Countrygal I've never done chicken marinated in buttermilk, but I have done boneless turkey thighs marinated in yogurt. Yogurt will definately work for chicken too. That's a tried and true Middle Eastern technique for grilling. You can add whatever you like to the marinade. I tend to use either a turkish seasoning mix I have or ras el harnout, which is a Moroccan spice mix, but you could use any old seasoning. It's a good way to go for moist flavorful meat, but you still have to watch the meat carefully and not overcook. Below is a link to a typical recipe in the Middle Eastern style. Here is a link that might be useful: Turkish Marinated Chicken Kebabs
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Thank you for the reply Linda. But the problem is that I want to cook the whole chicken (not parts, and not butterflied) in the *broiler*, not in the oven. And I don't know if that will work. I guess I didn't explain it well enough. When the grillevator mechanism is is place, you can only get about 10" max from the heating element. But when the grillevator is removed, you have a space identical in size to the regular oven, but with the heating element exposed at the top. The OKM manual says one can *broil* whole chickens and roasts in here. But I can't for the life of me find any recipes for such large items to be cooked under a broiler. If you follow the link below, you will see some photos after scrolling down. Notice the grillevator contraption on the left? That whole thing is removable, and you are left with a large oven-sized cavity for broiling big items. But how do you broil big items without burning the heck out of them? I hope that makes sense! Thinking maybe I could try a clay cooker in there, because it would protect the top of the chicken from getting burned to a crisp? Thanks! :-) francy Here is a link that might be useful: The Grillevator
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Oh man! I am almost drooling. LOL Mine is boring (but still pretty good), and kind of low fat. Well, lower fat. I have one of those pump and spray bottles that you put olive oil in, pump it then spray it in the pan (like Pam). So, first off I spray the skillet / pan with Olive oil. THen when it's nice and hot I lay the first piece of bread (usually whole wheat) down in the pan. Then I put grated cheese on the bread (light / low fat cheese usually a mozerlla + cheddar blend. THen put the top of the bread on the cheese. Lightly spray the top bread with olive oil. Then flip it over to let the other side brown. Really good, and evenly browned. You wouldn't know that it was low fat cheese and low in sat fat. And the olive oil makes it brown very nicely, and you probably use less than a teaspoon of olive oil for the whole sandwich. Probably a lot less than if you buttered the bread. Grilled swiss cheese is amazing! The one and only time I use ketchup is with grilled cheese.
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shambo
Original Author
18 years ago
Terri, thanks for the link. Please forgive my ignorance, if I don't spatchcock the chicken, can I place the whole thing directly on the grates, just turning it over on each side during the cooking? Or should I place the chicken in an aluminum pan and put the whole thing on the grates? I don't have a rotisserie, so that's not an option. I wasn't exaggerating about not knowing what to do...
User
18 years ago
Sue, you don't need a rotissserie and you don't need to turn it over. You can set it right on the grill, over the indirect heat and forget about it. Depending on size and on how hot your grill gets it should roast in 40 to 60 minutes unless it is a very large chicken. The grill I have now will maintain a heat of about 450 with the lid down. It has three burners, so I just place the chicken in the middle and turn that burner off and leave the two outside burners on high. My old grill use to get up to over 600Â°F with just one burner on so needless to say a chicken cooked much quicker.

Ann
shambo
Original Author
18 years ago
Ann, thanks for your help. That's what I needed to know. We haven't had a grill in years and never used it when we had one. So I have zero experience. But this heat is really getting to me. I just don't want to turn on the oven unless I have to. I managed to grill some eggplant & squash the other day and was so proud of myself. I know, it sounds stupid. I figure I could handle pork chops or steaks. I just wasn't sure about a whole chicken.Yet I didn't want to pass up the sale.

Terri, I've got some of those rub recipes already copied. I can't wait to use them. Cant' do the brining, though. My husband is on a low sodium diet. I'll just have to be sure not to overcook the bird.
bhhstudios
18 years ago
Beer can chicken all the way. The single best way to cook a chicken period.

Get a beer, drink half of it. Get a chicken, clean it, coat it in butter, rub it with salt and pepper and any other spice you want. Ram the beer up the opening of the chicken. Place a drip try under it and cook upright on the other side of the burner . Indirect heat till internal temp reaches 180Â°F.

(if you need more specifics google "Beer can chicken"

Enjoy!
Terri_PacNW
18 years ago
bhh, I've used Mountain Dew to "beer" can too..

Sue, yes, just as Ann is describing..How did it go?
I realize the brining is out for you..however, if you make that rub recipe without salt it'll still be very tasty..that smoked paprika is the key.
I don't brine the chickens when I do the Smokey recipe, I rub the chickens(I always do 2 at a time.) down with the Smokey Rub, slide them into gallon ziplocs and let set a few hours to overnight.

Follow the recipes just omit the salts. :0)
Oh and I haven't tried the Spatchcock directions..just the Smokey BBQ Beer Can, Bourbon butter recipe..We love it..and that's the bbq sauce I now make for everything..Takes mere minutes and is so tasty.
gardengrl
18 years ago
I've had the best success with spatchcocking and vertical roasters (i.e. beer in the rear) for grilling. I like to use a dry rub for the spatchcock and remember to not put the bird over direct heat! You'll end up with a charred looking, pitiful thing. :-)

The vertical roasting methods are the easiest IMO. Do your prep before hand, shove the roaster prop in the bird, put it on the grill and walk away. I use a thermometer to keep an eye on things (180 degrees).
lindac
18 years ago
I like to split the bird down the back and remove the backbone.
Then I start it over a slowed down fire, skin side down and sprinkle the juice of 1/2 a lemon, a bit of garlic salt and some pepper or paprika on the "inside".
When the skin has browned a bit, flip the bird ( tee hee!) andzs sprinkle the same on the skin, omitting the lemon...turn the bird every 10 minutes until the leg moves easily in the joint or the juices run clearw hen pierced.
I love simple grilled chicken!
Linda C

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