Juicy Roast Chicken
Roast ChickenServes 6
This past weekend I cooked a roasting chicken on our gas grill at 300 degrees. It was incredibly moist and juicy, despite my cooking it for three hours, far longer than usual for me. I did a simple sprinkle of seasoning with a rub of olive oil, but you can choose just about anything that sounds good to you. Just don’t use a sugar-based barbecue sauce until about 15 minutes from the end of cooking or it will burn.
Trussing the chicken isn’t necessary, but it helps to keep it compact while it is cooking. Be sure to use all-cotton kitchen twine, available in most kitchenware stores.
Note that I have received some comments about this recipe. The original called for a 4-5 lb roaster; it should have been 5-6 lbs. Also, my friends Tina and Mike Berens noted that supermarket roasters have up to 11 percent water and spices added without it being labeled very well. I haven’t had a chance to check this, but I will and will post the results. Also note that 150-160 is closer to what is currently the serving temperature. At that temperature, the chicken has a touch of pink, but is completely safe to eat. My wife, who is Southern, refuses to eat chicken or pork with ANY pink, so I tend to cook things longer. I will stand by an internal temperature of 170 for this dish as having moist white meat.
1 5 to 6-pound roasting chicken
Spice rub (see below)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Heat the oven to 300 degrees. If you are cooking on a gas grill, heat all three burners to the maximum, then turn two off completely. Place the roaster over these burners, not the live one, for indirect heat.
Rub the chicken with the oil and sprinkle it with 1 to 2 tablespoons spice rub. Truss the chicken by using kitchen twine to tie the legs together and tie the wings close to the body.
Roast for 2½ hours, then check the thigh and breast with a quick-read thermometer; they should be between 170 and 180 degrees. When the chicken is done, let it rest for 5 minutes before carving. Make sure to carve it on something that will hold the juice. There will be a lot of it.
For spice rubs, I like a Cajun mixture: equal parts of black and white pepper and one-quarter to one-third parts powdered garlic, powdered onion, red pepper and salt. You can also use a tablespoon of dried rosemary and marjoram crumbled together.