Grilled Whole Chicken

When at home I always grill/smoke chicken on our Big Green Egg, although I used a Weber charcoal grill this time because I was at the beach and therefore was without the BGE. This didn't seem to be a problem though, because I was able to cook the chicken the same way and it turned out quite well. I try to use whole butterflied chickens when I grill chicken as I believe they turn out the best.

After butterflying the whole chicken I seasoned it with salt and pepper and placed it on the grill skin-side up over indirect heat. I also added a couple handfuls of hickory chunks for a nice smokey flavor. Because I cook my chicken slowly over indirect heat (I believe this is the best way to grill chicken: it is moist and doesn't get burn on the edges), I do not flip the chicken at all while cooking. I "painted" the bird with my homemade barbecue sauce a couple minutes before (and directly after) removing from the heat.

Luke's advice for grilled chicken:

• use bone-in chicken. whole chickens are ideal (butterfly before cooking)
• season liberally with kosher (big grains) and freshly ground black pepper before cooking
• grill over a low-temperature indirect heat (the exact grill temperature is not too important, especially when using grills such as the Weber kettle grill without a thermometer, but I would aim around 300 F.)
• If planning on applying barbecue sauce as I did here, apply the sauce about 2-5 minutes before removing chicken from the grill to avoid burning)
• Do not overcook!