Grilled-Roasted Chicken

by Cheryl and Bill Jamison
from Chicken on the Grill
(William Morrow, 2004)
Serves 2 to 4

Crispy and brown, juicy and succulent, a roasted whole chicken makes a magnificent centerpiece for a meal. A front-of-the-flame rotisserie does the job best, but you can rival that success with covered indirect cooking on a grill if you do it properly. Forget the generally recommended simplistic method of using a steady baking temperature, which produces, predictably, a half-baked result. Instead, start at relatively high heat, in a true roasting style, then rotate the chicken and finish the cooking at a lower temperature. Since we’re cooking covered here, the instructions give actual oven temperatures to guide the process rather than our usual hand-test pointer.—Cheryl and Bill Jamison

convert Ingredients
For the dry rub
1 tablespoon smoked paprika or regular paprika
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons coarse salt (kosher or sea salt)
2 teaspoons freshly milled pepper

One 3 1/4 to 3 1/2 pounds plump chicken

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Method
1. Combine the dry rub ingredients in a small bowl. Rub the mixture inside and outside the chicken both over and under the skin, being careful not to tear the skin. Let the chicken sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

2. Prepare the grill for indirect cooking, making a hot fire in one half of the grill and leaving the other half unheated. Place an inexpensive portable oven thermometer (available at any kitchen supply store) on the cool half of the cooking grate; don’t rely on your grill’s built-in thermometer because you want to measure the temperature only on the unheated side. Close the grill, and bring the temperature to 400°F (200°C) on the unheated side.

3. Preferably wearing washable heatproof mitts, place the chicken breast side down on the unheated side of the cooking grate. (If you have a low-powered gas grill that won’t reach the ideal 400°F (200°C) roasting temperature, you can still grill-bake your chicken in standard oven fashion, increasing the cooking time.) Plan on a total cooking time of 65 to 85 minutes. After 35 minutes, turn the chicken breast side up, brush with butter for a glossier skin, and reduce the heat to 350°F (175°C). (On a gas grill, simply turn the heat down; on a charcoal grill, close the vents and spread out the charcoal as necessary.) Cook until the skin is crisp and well browned and an instant-read thermometer stuck in the thickest part of a thigh reads 170° to 175°F (76° to 79°C).

4. Let the chicken sit for 5 to 10 minutes on a cutting board, then carve and serve.

Recipe © 2004 Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison. All rights reserved.
© 2009 Leite’s Culinaria, Inc. All rights reserved. Terms of use.