Charcoal Grilled Frog Chicken
We have already covered grilled chicken wings in our Charcoal Grilling 101 series. Now we go for the whole enchilada…or chicken.
Things to know:
What are some common grilled chicken mistakes?
Not salting the skin ahead of time to promote crispy skin, putting a damp cold chicken on the grill, under seasoning and most importantly, grilling without a thermometer. Nothing will wreck your grilled chicken more than dry breasts.
Should I allow a grilled whole chicken to rest?
Heck yes! If you want delicious, juicy breasts, pull the chicken when it hits 155-160F internally, place it on a baking sheet, loosely tented with foil and allow to rest for a minimum of 10 minutes. The chicken will continue to cook as it rests, allowing the breasts to reach 165F.
How do you grill with charcoal for beginners?
1. Place the appropriate amount of charcoal in a chimney and light it.
2. Determine the method of cooking you are to use, arrange the charcoal as appropriate, place the cooking grate into position and close the lid.
3. Ensure the grill vents, or dampers, are open.
4. Wait 10 to 15 minutes as the grill heats up.
5. Oil the grates, clean the grate with a grill brush if necessary and oil again.
6. Place food onto the cooking grate.
How long do you let charcoal burn before cooking?
You should let charcoal burn for about 20-30 minutes before cooking (I do this in 2 steps). This ensures the coals are hot enough, have finished producing thick smoke and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and have had time to heat your grill.
Do you leave the vent open on a charcoal grill when cooking?
This depends on what you are cooking and what method you are using. Typically the lower vent is fully open and the top adjusted as necessary, but there are exceptions.
Ingredients:
1 whole chickens
1 stick of butter at room temperature
1/4 cup diced fire roasted Hatch Green Chiles
1 T minced garlic
your favorite chicken rub (we used Green Chile Smokehouse’s Green Chile Rub and Seasoning)
cooking spray (we used Duck Fat cooking spray)
Directions:
1. An hour before you are ready to chuck it on the grill, place the bird on a cutting board, breast side up. With a sharp knife, cut between the leg and thigh just deep enough to expose the rib cage, then while pulling up on the breast section, cut through the ribs of the chicken.
2. Flip the bird over and push down on top of the breast section, flattening the chicken into the shape of a frog.
3. Remove the wing tips, for they will not survive the grilling process.
4. Using your fingers, create pockets between the skin and the meat, being careful not to rip the skin, starting at the top of the drumsticks, then from the top of the breast, being sure to leave the skin attached to the meat at the bottom (now top due to “frogging” the chicken) of the breast section.
5. Mix your compound butters: in a bowl add a stick of butter, the minced garlic and the seasoning/sauce of your choice (we added 1/4 cup of diced fire roasted Hatch Green Chiles and 1 T of Green Chile Smokehouse’s Green Chile Rub and Seasoning addition to the garlic).
6. Stuff 1/4 of the compound butter into the pocket between the skin and meat in each leg/thigh and the remainder in the breast pocket.
7. Place your bird breast side up on your cutting board and liberally apply course sea to the skin. This will dry the skin out as the bird cooks promoting crispy skin.
8. Fill two 2 zone charcoal basket 3/4 full of charcoal briquettes, then transfer the briquettes to a starter chimney. Light a tumbleweed fire starter and place the chimney over it. Allow 15 minutes of the coals to be prepped.
9. Transfer the lit coals to the 2 zone baskets, pushing them to opposite sides of the kettle. Add a chunk of 2 of wood for additional flavor (we added apple and cherry).
10. Place the grill grates in the grill and the raised grate. Ensure the bottom vents are about 1/2 open and top vents are about 1/4 open and allow the grill to warm for 10 minutes.
11. Spray your grill with a cooking spray.
12. Season your bird with your favorite rub (skin side only).
13. Place the birds, breast side up on the grill opposite of the charcoal. Place the lid on the grill, ensuring the vents are directly above the chicken.
14. After about 30 minutes, rotate the bird 180 degrees (so the opposite side of the chicken is closest to the coals with the bird still being skin side up), spray the chicken skin with cooking spray (we used spray Duck Fat), replace the lid and continue to cook until the internal temp of the breast is 155-160F and the quarters are 170-180. Our total cook time was just over an hour.
15. Remove the bird from the grill, allow to rest for at least 10 minutes loosely tented with foil, then carve and serve, ENJOY!
Equipment used:
ThermoPro TempSpike Plus: 600FT Wireless Meat Thermometer Bluetooth
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