Grilled Whole Chicken

Square overhead image of a whole grilled chicken on a white plate.

5 from 1 vote

All of the tips and tricks that you'll need for a perfect whole grilled chicken!

Course Dinner

Cuisine American, Southern

Keyword grilled whole chicken, grilling a whole chicken, how to grill a whole chicken, whole chicken on the grill, whole grilled chicken

Prep Time 40

Cook Time 1 30

Resting Time 10

Total Time 2 20

Servings people

Calories 655kcal

Author Blair Lonergan

Ingredients

1 (4 ½ - 5 lb.) whole chicken, giblets removed
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1-2 tablespoons bbq rub seasoning, rotisserie chicken seasoning, all-purpose seasoning, or other seasoning of choice (we often use this SuckleBusters Clucker Dust for sweet heat as well)
¼ cup barbecue sauce (optional, for bbq chicken) (use store-bought or this homemade maple bbq sauce), plus extra for serving
Optional, for grilling: charcoal briquet holders; foil drip pans; chunk of apple wood (for a charcoal grill) or applewood smoke pellets with a pellet smoker tube (for a gas grill)

Instructions

Allow the chicken to sit on the counter and come to room temperature for about 30 minutes while you prepare the grill. Preheat a gas or charcoal grill over indirect medium-high heat (about 375–400°F). To do so with a charcoal grill, place the charcoal in the briquet holders on either side of the grill, leaving the center open. If you don’t have briquet holders, you can just bank the coals to one side to create a hot zone and a cooler indirect zone. Place foil drip pans in the middle of the grill below the grates (these help to catch the drippings from the meat as it cooks). With a gas grill, turn one side of the burners to medium-high, leave the other side off. Whether you’re using a charcoal grill or a gas grill, this two-zone set up is essential for cooking the chicken over indirect heat so that you don’t burn the chicken before it’s cooked through.
Add a chunk of apple wood (or other fruit wood) to the charcoal briquets, or use applewood smoke pellets with a pellet smoker tube in a gas grill, if desired. This is optional, but it gives the chicken a nice, subtle smoked flavor.
Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Rub on all sides with olive oil and sprinkle with seasoning of choice.
Place the chicken on the grill grates (over the foil drip pan, if using).
Close the lid of the grill and cook over indirect heat until the internal temperature of the chicken breast reaches 160-165°F, about 1 hour, 15 minutes to 1 hour, 30 minutes.
Baste with the barbecue sauce during the final 10 minutes, if desired.
Allow the chicken to rest for at least 10-15 minutes before carving and serving. Serve with additional bbq sauce, if desired.

Notes

I've shown the chicken with bbq sauce, which we use for basting at the end. This is totally optional! If you don't want bbq chicken, just skip that step. Without the bbq sauce, you'll have a flavorful, juicy chicken with crispy skin.

We prefer using smaller "young chickens," which typically weigh between 4 ½ and 5 lbs. You can certainly use smaller or larger birds; you'll just need to adjust the total grilling time accordingly.

Nutrition