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Simple Grill Roasted Chicken
Oh, succulent grill roasted chicken. A kiss of smoke, pure salt and pepper with a hint of thyme and garlic, how I adore thee! This grill roasted chicken is a super simple, no fuss, and slightly smoky succulent bird. Perfect for any time summer grilling... or just any time!
Servings 4
Ingredients
- 1 each whole roasting chicken (3 - 5 lbs)
- 4 sprigs thyme
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch pepper
Instructions
Prep
- We're using indirect heat for this so if you are using charcoal (which I would recommend) you'll need to keep the coals to the sides of the grill. There are charcoal baskets specifically for this or you can just make sure to pile it up on the sides.
- Start your grill and get it pretty warm, we're looking for about 450 degrees to start.
- Take your bird out of the refrigerator and bring to room temperature (30 minutes or so).
- Rinse and completely dry your chicken inside and out, we want this bird to be super dry so it isn't steaming it's roasting on the grill.
- Sprinkle with a good bit of salt and pepper inside and out. Put the sprigs of thyme in the cavity. Just crush the garlic a bit in the skins and toss them in whole into the cavity.
- Truss the legs of the chicken with some kitchen twine. You can truss the wings as well around the middle but I kind of like mine to stay out...
Grill Roasted Chicken
- Place the whole chicken in the middle of the grill, not over direct heat, and close the lid.
- Let roast about an hour, smaller birds maybe a bit less, larger a bit more. Keep the lid closed, keep adding charcoal a bit at a time to keep fuel on the fire, and it's likely the temperature will come down a bit over the course of cooking, that's okay, just make sure the bird is cooked through and juices are running clear!
- NB: Insert a meat thermometer inserted in the thigh or breast reads your desired temperature. Often 165 is suggested, I like mine a little under that, but make sure you're comfortable with how done it is as eating undercooked meat can lead to an increased risk of food borne illness!
Notes
Because it isn't Thanksgiving every day, and whole roasted bird on the grill is delicious! You can always feel free to leave off the herbs or change them up, sometimes I do lemon and/or onion in the cavity also. They don't impart a heavy flavor but just enough to have this delicious feast come through.
If you're having more people over you might want 2 chickens, just as easy on a typical grill. The more the merrier! I did this with my fire roasted ratatouille the other night and had friends over, a couple bottles of wine sitting outside enjoying summer to the fullest! Always more of that please!