Chef John’s Barbecue Chicken

Description

When it comes to barbecued chicken, everyone wants that nice thick glaze of sauce attached to the skin, and the only way to do it, is brush it on as it cooks. Therein lies the problem. Because of the sugar content, it only takes a minute for a barbecue sauce to go from brick-red to solid black. I just ‘mark’ the chicken’s vulnerable skin side, then cook it all the way through in a closed grill, brushing on the glaze as it cooks.

Ingredients

  • 1 whole chicken, into halves
  • ¼ cup rice vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons barbeque sauce
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • ½ cup barbeque sauce, or as needed

Instructions

  1. Cut 1/2-inch deep slashes in the skin-side of each chicken half; 2 cuts in each breast
  2. 2 in the thigh
  3. and 1 on the leg; remove wing tips.
  4. Whisk rice vinegar
  5. barbeque sauce
  6. and garlic together in large bowl. Place chicken in bowl and turn to coat chicken in the marinade. Arrange chicken halves
  7. cut-side down
  8. in the bottom of the marinade bowl
  9. cover the bowl with plastic wrap
  10. and refrigerate for 1 hour.
  11. Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat and lightly oil the grate.
  12. Remove chicken from bowl
  13. pat chicken dry with paper towels
  14. and discard marinade. Place chicken halves
  15. skin-side up
  16. on a plate and season with salt
  17. pepper
  18. paprika
  19. onion powder
  20. and cayenne pepper.
  21. Cook chicken
  22. skin-side down
  23. on the preheated grill for 3 to 4 minutes. Turn chicken over
  24. close the lid of the grill
  25. and cook
  26. basting with remaining barbeque sauce ever 6 minutes
  27. until no longer pink at the bone and the juices run clear
  28. about 35 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh
  29. near the bone should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).

Prep Time: 20 mins

Cook Time: 40 mins

Total Time: 2 hrs

Servings: 6

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