Barbecued Whole Chicken on the Grill
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Recipe type: Main Dish
Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • 1 whole chicken (about 4 pounds)
  • 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 tablespoon dried thyme
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/3 cup mustard-date barbecue sauce (recipe below)
Instructions
  1. Using a high setting, preheat two or three burners on a gas grill, or prepare charcoal grill for indirect grilling (coals only on one side of the grill).
  2. Remove giblets and neck from inside of chicken. Brush or rub chicken inside and out with olive oil. Sprinkle or rub inside and out with thyme and salt. If desired, tie legs together with string.
  3. Lightly oil the grill grate. Place chicken, breast side up, on the oiled grate. On a gas grill, turn off the burner directly under chicken (with a 3-burner grill, use the center grate) and reduce heat to medium. If using a charcoal grill, place chicken on side opposite the coals. Close cover and allow to roast 40 to 90 minutes, depending on the heat of your grill. Using tongs and a grilling fork, rotate the chicken end-to-end partway through. If charcoal grilling, add a few coals partway through if necessary to keep the grill hot.
  4. Place about 1/3 cup barbecue sauce in a small bowl, and keep the remaining sauce for later use or serving on the side. When chicken is nearly done (see next paragraph for ways to check for doneness) or for about the last 10 minutes of cooking, brush sauce all over the top and sides of chicken. Repeat once or twice, as desired, using up all of the sauce in the small bowl.
  5. Tests for doneness: (1) When an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, away from the bone, reads 170ºF. (2) When juices run clear rather than pinkish. To find out if juices are running clear, using a meat fork, carefully lift the chicken into a rimmed pan or casserole dish. If necessary, tip the chicken to allow juices to run from cavity into pan. (3) When the leg joint is loose. Use a meat fork to stabilize chicken. Grasp the end of a leg with tongs or several layers of paper towel. Move the joint around to test for looseness.
  6. When chicken is done and has cooked for at least 10 minutes with the barbecue sauce, transfer to a cutting board and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Carve and serve, with remaining barbecue sauce on the side, if desired.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 452; Fat: 33g; Saturated fat: 9g; Carbohydrates: 0g; Sugar: 1g; Sodium: 771mg; Fiber: 0g; Protein: 34g; Cholesterol: 138mg.
Recipe by Eileen’s Everyone Eats Right™ at https://everyoneeatsright.com/2013/07/16/grilled-whole-chicken-with-mustard-date-barbecue-sauce/