Step 1
Firstly remove all of the giblets out of the chicken’s cavity and then rinse the chicken underneath cold water. Now pat it till it is dry using paper towels and then season it inside and out using things such as pepper, salt and 2 tablespoons cilantro, sage, rosemary, thyme, minced fresh basil or tarragon.
Step 2
The second step is to prepare a nice bed of red hot coals for your charcoal grill. Make sure to rake all of your coals onto one side as you will be grilling your chicken on the side of the coals rather than grilling it over the top of them.
Another way to do it is to turn on half of your gas grille (i.e. only one of the two burners) which will leave half of your grill unlit. You will be using the unlit side as you don’t want direct heat going onto the chicken.
Step 3
The third step is to brush off the grill gate using a wire brush, preferably one that is very stiff. Make sure that the grill is hot or you may not remove all of the stuff that is stuck to it. Now use some tongs to grasp a clean, small towel and then use it to thinly coat oil onto your grill rack.
Step 4
For step four you will have to place the chicken breast side facing downwards onto the unheated part of your preheated grill. Cook it for somewhere around 30 minutes (make sure you cover it using foil or something). After the 30 minutes has passed turn it over and place the chicken breast side up. Now continue grilling for somewhere in the vicinity of 30 extra minutes. You will know when it is finished when the skin turns into a gold – brown color and you can see that the meat is white all the way through. If the meat isn’t white, the chicken is uncooked and uncooked chicken is extremely dangerous due to the threat of salmonella.
Step 5
Now it is time to check for what I like to call “doneness”. To do this, cut into the center of one of your pieces of chicken. If it is done, then the juices will run out once you cut the thickest part of your piece.
Step 6
The last step is the easiest. Simply allow the chicken to rest on the bench for somewhere around 15 minutes before you carve it. Leaving it to rest will allow the juices in it to solidify, producing a stronger flavor.
