Grilling a whole chicken doesn’t have to be difficult. Today I’m going to show you how to grill a whole chicken that turns out moist and delicious. The secret is to stuff the chicken under the skin before you grill it. You will make some of the juiciest chicken you have ever had by doing this.
So, you are probably asking what do you stuff under the chicken skin. Well, pretty much anything. How about for starters using a garlic butter. This is my favorite under the skin stuffing. It adds such great flavor. You can also stuff it with cheeses such as grated Parmesan. Fresh herb buttes and cheeses make a great under the skin stuffing.
Alright, let’s get to grilling a whole chicken. First off you will need yourself a whole chicken. Somewhere around a 3 ½ to 4 pound chicken will do. If it came with a giblet pack put that aside for another use. Rinse out the chicken with cold water then pat it dry with a paper towel.
Now stuffing the chicken under the skin might sound difficult, but it is really not once you get in there. The key is to start slow and small. Start by just putting one finger under the skin and slowly widen the gap between the skin and the meat. Once there is a big enough gap add more fingers, then finally your whole hand. Work slow so you don’t tear the skin. Worm your way throughout the whole chicken.
With the skin separated from the meat of the chicken, now is the time to stuff it. You can use whatever you like, but I’m going to use a garlic butter. I make my garlic butter by mixing a head of garlic that is minced with ¾ stick of butter that is a room temperature. Sometimes I’ll mix in some grated Parmesan cheese and herbs as well.
Once your garlic butter is ready use your fingers and start spreading it all throughout the chicken under the skin. Next you need to set up your gas or charcoal grill for indirect grilling over medium heat. If you are using a charcoal grill put a drip pan in the center and pour the coals on both sides.
When your grill is ready place the chicken over the drip pan breast side up or if you are using a gas grill place it breast side up opposite the heat source. You are going to grill the whole chicken for about 1 ¼ to 1 ½ hours. The skin will turn a nice golden brown color. Use an instant read thermometer to test for doneness; here is the one that I use. In the thickest part of the thigh, not touching the bone it should read about 180F.
Once it is done transfer it to a platter and let it rest for about 5 minutes before cutting into it. This is how to grill a whole chicken that turns out amazing. There really is no limit to the flavorings you could stuff the chicken with. Try out different herbed butters and cheese, that really add a great flavoring to the chicken.
A really indispensible tool that I use all the time with my grilling is an instant read thermometer. You do not want to have under cooked chicken. Make sure you always test for doneness. Here is the instant read thermometer that I use. It is simple to use and it gets the job done.
image courtesy of sporkist/flickr