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Backyard chicken barbecue

By PAUL KIRK, KC Baron of Barbecue

Backyard novices often ruin a simple chicken barbecue.  Instead of a delectable backyard delicacy, the chicken turns dry and charcoal black -- more like a meteorite than barbecue.  These unfortunate results will be avoided with a few simple rules for making a perfect backyard chicken barbecue. 

By following these simple steps, the backyard novice will become the neighborhood barbecue king.  Although the chicken will take longer to cook, it requires less work, and the results will surprise everyone.

Cooking log

To become the best barbecue cook in the neighborhood, the barbecue novice must keep track of each and every step.  To do so, the cook needs a Barbecue Cooking Log.  The log does not have to be an expensive book.  The best log is a simple, three-ring binder. with log sheets that can be designed and printed from the computer.  Alternatively, a small notebook can be used as a log.

Chicken

The best chicken for a barbecue is a 3 1/2 to 4 pound whole fryer.  Roasting chickens are older and tougher.  A whole fryer allows flexibility, because it can be cooked whole, in halves, in quarters or in pieces.  Even if the fryer is to be cut into pieces, the cook can save $0.15 per pound or more by purchasing the chicken whole rather than pre-cut.

Cut into pieces

Cutting a chicken into pieces is easy and requires only a good, sharp, paring knife.  To cut a whole chicken into pieces, the cook should first cut the chicken into two halves with the backbone removed, as follows:

  • Remove the chicken from the packaging.  
  • Remove the giblets (the innards, including the liver, gizzard and heart) and set them aside.
  • Thoroughly rinse the chicken inside and out with cold running water.  
  • Drain and pat it dry with paper towels.  
  • Place the chicken on a secure cutting board, breast side down and with the tail facing away from the cook. 
  • Place the paring knife at the right side of the tail and cut down the side of the backbone towards what was the neck.
  • About 2 inches down from the tail is the thigh bone joint:  cut right through it (it is only gristle)
  • Next are the rib bones, which are tiny and can be cut through very easily, and continue the cut to the neck, so that half the chicken has been removed.
  • Repeat the same procedure in order to remove the backbone from the other half, and discard the backbone, leaving two chicken halves.

Next, the cook should remove the breast bone from each half, as follows:

  • Lay one of the halves skin-side down, so that the breast bone is visible.
  • Find the white piece of gristle at the bottom and split the gristle down the middle to the bone, about 1/8-inch.
  • Pick up the chicken, place both thumbs on either side of the slit gristle, and pop out the breast bone, and then work a finger down each side of the bone and long gristle and pull the breast bone out.  (Alternatively, if this does not work, just cut down one side of the breastbone to cut in half and remove it.)  
  • Finally, use a knife to remove the wishbone, which is the only remaining bone in the breast meat and which is located at the tail end of the chicken half.  (The wishbone is more easily removed with a chef's knife, boning knife or slicing knife.)

Finally, cut the chicken halves into individual pieces, as follows:

  • Lay one of the halves skin-side down.
  • Cut through the breast meat at an angle, beginning at the back near the tail, and ending at the breast near the neck (so that each quarter is approximately the same weight).
  • Remove the leg at the joint.
  • Remove the thigh.
  • Remove the wing, and include a small portion of breast meat.

There are now the following pieces of chicken, with skin on:

  • Two breasts
  • Two thighs
  • Two legs
  • Two wings
  • Giblets

Note that some cooks prefer to remove the chicken skin before cooking it.  However, leaving the skin on during cooking helps keep the chicken from drying out so should be left on.  If desired, the skin can be removed after cooking and prior to serving.

Apply rub

Prepare the rub, if it has not yet been mixed, and apply the rub on all sides of the chicken pieces.

If the giblets are going to be cooked, apply the rubs to them and place a toothpick or skewer through the liver, gizzard and heart, so they cannot fall through grill grate.  Chicken livers; if not over-cooked, are an excellent first course or appetizer.  If the giblets are not going to be cooked, then reserve them for later use.

If the chicken will not be put on the first for 30 minutes or more, then place it into the refrigerator.

Prepare fire

This assumes that the cooker is a Weber 22 3/4" Kettle.  Most new cookers come equipped with fire baskets or racks for the coals.  These baskets are useful but not necessary.  

If a rack is available, place only one rack on the bottom grate, about 6 inches from the edge of the cooker (this will be filled with coals).  Place an aluminum throw-away bread pan against the rack and fill it 3/4 full with water.  If no rack is available, them place the bread pan, filled with water, about 10 inches from the edge, and the coals will be dumped between the bread pan and the edge, so that the bread pan keeps the coals along one edge of the Weber Kettle.

Place 30 to 40 good quality charcoal briquette's into a starting chimney, and place one or two sheets of dry newspaper into the bottom.  Light the newspaper and place the chimney on the bottom grate of the Weber Kettle or another safe place, where air can flow into the chimney.  The briquettes are ready when the top layer are red and burning, which should about 30 minutes.  Record in the log the number of briquettes, the general weather conditions, and the length of time for the briquettes to fully light.

Safety note:  purchase and use good quality welder's gloves (available at home supply and hardware stores), which reach almost to the elbows, when working with hot coals.

When the coals in the chimney are ready, dump them into the fire basket or rack and place 5 new, unlit briquettes on the hot coals.  Place the cooking grill over the coals, and cover the Kettle with the lid.  

Test the temperature at the lid and at the grill level, and note the difference in the log.  The lid should have a thermometer, but the temperature it measures is not the temperature at the meat level.  Use an ordinary oven thermometer, placed on the center of the grill, to measure the temperature there.  The lid thermometer may measure 40F or more degrees higher than at the grill level -- note the difference in the log.

Cook chicken

When the temperature at the grill level reach between 230F and 250F, place the chicken pieces, skin side up, with the larger pieces (breasts and thighs) closer to the fire (nearer to the water pan).  Place the lid on the cooker.  Write down the time, the temperature, and the weather conditions.

Note on weather conditions:  the outside temperature, humidity and wind have a major effect on the cooking conditions inside any cooker.  One of the challenges of barbecue is compensating for these three weather conditions, so they should be monitored and noted in the log, so that mistakes can be avoided and perfect barbecue can be duplicated.

Let the chicken cook undisturbed for 1 1/2 hours.  Do not peek -- because it will release the heat and smoke.  This 90-minute period can be used to make a barbecue sauce.

At the end of this 90-minute period, do the following:

  • Check the grill-level temperature and record it in the log.
  • Place 10 unlit briquettes on the fire.
  • Add water as needed.
  • Turn and rotate the chicken.  If the chicken is getting too dark, move them farther back from the fire, and make a note in the log, so that the next time they can be placed farther from the fire at the beginning.

Cover and cook for another 45 minutes, undisturbed.  At the end of this 45-minute period, do the following:

  • Check the grill-level temperature and record it in the log.
  • If the temperature is below 230F, then add 10 unlit briquettes on the fire.
  • Turn and rotate the chicken.

Cover and cook for another 15 minutes, undisturbed.  At the end of this 15-minute period, do the following:

  • Check the internal temperature of the thigh and breast (in the thickest part) with an instant read thermometer.  The chicken is done when the internal temperature is 165F and the juices run clear.
  • If the chicken is not done, then check the grill-level temperature and record it in the log.
  • If the temperature is below 230F, then add 10 unlit briquettes on the fire.
  • Turn and rotate the chicken.

Cover and cook for another 15 minutes, undisturbed.  At the end of this 15-minutes period, repeat the steps above, until the chicken is done.  

As noted above, the chicken is done when the internal temperature of the thigh and breast is 165F and the juices run clear.  When the chicken is done, then glaze as follows.

Glaze

To glaze means to cook barbecue sauce on the finished product.  Glazing chicken is done by using a pastry brush to paint hot barbecue sauce on the chicken and then cooking it for 10 minutes.  At the end of the 10-minute period, paint another layer of sauce on the chicken and serve.  

During the glazing, the temperature will be between 230F and 250F.  This is not hot enough to char or blacken the chicken.  Instead, the chicken will take on a deep red, shiny glaze.

Cooking with gas

Many backyard cooks have gas grills, because they are faster to light and easier to control.  Their biggest drawback is that gas grills do not impart as good a flavor, because there is no smoke flavor.  

Gas grill manufactures have addressed this problem by providing an accessory smoke box.  The smoke box contains wood chips or saw dust and is placed on or next to the gas burners.  The burners heat the smoke box, which causes the wood chips or saw dust to smoke but not burn quickly.  Properly designed, the smoke box will produce enough wood smoke to flavor the chicken or other barbecue.

A smoke box can be made which will be as effective as a commercial accessory.  To make a smoke box, make a pouch with heavy-duty aluminum foil, fill it with wood chips or saw dust (use good, fragrant hard woods), and seal it up like an envelope.  Poke holes in the top, place it on the lava rocks or burner, and it will produce smoke.

The cooking procedure is about the same as with wood coals.  Most gas grills have two or more burners, with separate controls.  Light the burners on one side of the grill, and place the chicken on the opposite side, away from the fire.  Cooking on gas will reduce the cooking time 30 minutes or more, depending on the gas grill.  Because each gas grill is different, cooks should keep a detailed log to record the times and temperatures.  After practice, a cook with a gas grill will cook championship-quality chicken barbecue and then can repeat it over and over, to the neighbors' delight.

Related information

 

Poultry Article Menu

Backyard Chicken Barbecue
Grilled Chicken
Smoking a whole turkey
Barbecued Turkey page
Grill-Roasting a turkey

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