Juicy Grilled BBQ Chicken

A white serving platter with bbq chicken parts, leg quarters, breasts, and wings. A sprig of parsley on the side and a jar of bbq spice rub in the background.

4 from 1 vote

Flavored with a simple rub and a finish of homemade barbecue sauce, this recipe for grilled BBQ chicken uses an easy indirect grilling technique to ensure tender, juicy results every time.

Prep Time20

Cook Time50

Total Time1 10

Course: Entrées

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Author: Lynne Webb

Ingredients

1 whole chicken (about 4-1/2 lbs) cut up
Olive oil
BBQ Spice Rub
1-1/4 cups Bourbon BBQ Sauce

Instructions

Brush the chicken parts on all sides with olive oil, then sprinkle liberally BBQ Spice Rub (see notes for substitutions) and rub it in with your fingers or the back of a spoon. Set aside for 15 minutes.
Preheat a gas grill to medium temperature (350°F to 375°F). Once it's preheated, shut the burners off on one side.
Note: If you have a single burner grill, you'll be reducing the temperature midway through cooking. If you have a charcoal grill, check the recipe notes for instructions.
Oil the grill grates and add the chicken, skin side down directly over the flame. Grill, uncovered until the skin is nicely seared, 5 to 7 minutes, then turn and cook for an additional 3 to 4 minutes skin side up. Watch carefully and move the pieces around if necessary to prevent flare-ups and excess charring.
Transfer the chicken, skin side down, to the cooler side of the grill. Note: If you have a single burner grill, turn the temperature down to medium-low (250°F to 325°F).
Place the thicker, slower cooking pieces of chicken closer to the side of the grill with the flame, and arrange the smaller pieces further away. Baste with barbecue sauce, cover and cook undisturbed for 15 minutes.
Turn the chicken skin side up, rearrange the pieces to ensure even cooking, and baste liberally with barbecue sauce.
Re-cover the grill and cook the chicken for an additional 20 minutes, then check the internal temperature of each piece with an instant-read thermometer. Chicken is done when it registers 165°F. Transfer cooked pieces to a serving platter and check those that aren't done yet every 3 to 5 minutes to avoid overcooking.
Transfer the chicken to a serving platter and let it rest for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Notes

Indirect Grilling With a Charcoal Grill

Charcoal grills make the process of indirect grilling a little more complicated. Depending on the size and configuration of your grill, you may want to pile the charcoal either on one side of the fire grate, or around the edges leaving a cooking space in the middle.

Whichever option you choose, you want to allow your coals to burn until they are glowing orange and have a light layer of ash coating them. You can tell that the coals have "cooled" to medium heat by holding your hand about 4 inches above the cooking grate. It should take 6 to 8 seconds before you need to pull your hand away.

Grill the chicken according to the recipe instructions, moving it from direct to indirect heat about a third of the way through the cooking time.

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