YIELD:
4
PREP TIME:
20 Minutes
COOK TIME: 2 Hours
COOKING METHOD: Barbequing and Roasting
INGREDIENTS
Chicken
Brine and Rub - your favorites
Sauce for glaze
DIRECTIONS
There is no real secret to great barbecued chicken that is moist, tender and pleasantly smoky. Low & slow is the motto. Use indirect heat and add sauce or glaze only at the end of the cooking. As with all true barbecue and smoking - unlike grilling over direct heat at high temperature - the meat is slow cooked using indirect heat at lower temperatures. That great “barbecue flavor” you desire is derived from a combination of the rub applied to the chicken as much as 24 hours before cooking and flavor from the charcoal or smoke chips that will coat the meat during the long, slow cooking process. Sauce or glaze is added only during the final 5-to-10 minutes. If you are used to flames flaring up from the fat dripping onto burners or coals, charring the sweet barbecue sauce on your chicken whilst your grill – this will be a shock to you. My guess is you won't think the fire is hot enough to cook the chicken – have patience my friend!
Preparation
Brine the chicken parts for up to 24 hours.
Remove from brine rinse under tepid water and dry with paper towels.
Apply your favorite rub to the chicken for as little as 1 hour or up to overnight
Remove chicken from refrigerator or cooler for at least 1 hour prior to cooking
Method
- Pre-heat the grill or cooker using charcoal or a gas burner to reach a consistent level of approximately 250F degrees – set up for indirect cooking and a smoker box with dry wood chips. I like fruit wood mixed 2:1 with mesquite – use what you like. A drip pan placed beneath the chicken is recommended.
Place chicken parts on grates furthest from the heat - beginning with dark meat. White meat cooks faster than dark meat. Wings cook faster than legs. Smaller pieces faster than larger ones. Wait at least 20 minutes before adding the chicken breasts. I generally place the chicken breasts bone side down and don't turn them during cooking. I may move them closer or further from the indirect heat, but usually only turn the legs, thighs and wings. Preparing chicken this method should take about 1 hour to cook. Maintain a temperature between 230° and 250°F, opening or closing the vents and adding charcoal as needed.
- Once you place the chicken on the grates with an indirect fire or heat, close the lid and ignore the chicken as it cooks, checking only after about 20 minutes when you add the second batch of pieces and be mindful of how long the hood is up if you need to add more coals to a charcoal fire and/or more wood chips for smoke
- After about 40 minutes use an instant read thermometer to check the chicken (breasts are usually done first) to get a reading of approximately 165F degrees. Remember the meat will continue to cook from internal heat after you remove from the grill, so be vigilant in watching the internal temperature after 40 minutes.
- Wait until the chicken is nearly fully cooked before basting with the sauce. I recommend you baste lightly several times – and perhaps use a “holding” tray placed on the warming rack where you can sauce the chicken easily. The sauce needs just a few minutes to adhere nicely to the chicken as a glaze. Serve more sauce as a condiment so guests can add as much as they want – it’s easier to add sauce than remove it!