Grilled Spice Rubbed Roast Chicken

I'm a total Cooking Light Junkie. Every time I know a new issue is about to pop up in my mailbox, I watch for the mailman and as soon as he drives up I storm his little mailman box car and start demanding my magazine. Ok, not really, but you'll find many recipes from there on this blog. This recipe is adapted from Cooking Light.

Chicken is way better when you buy it bone-in. Yeah, those boneless skinless cooking breasts are everyone's quick dinner best friend, but chicken with bones = moist, tender, flavorful deliciousness. This Grilled Spice Rubbed roast chicken is amazing and if you're into gravy, you can make a little gravy out of the drippings and serve with some mashed potatoes.

Ingredients:


1 1/2 tsp brown sugar
1 1/4 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 (4-pound) whole chicken
Cooking spray.

If you have a BBQ grill, the following recipe involves putting some grill marks on the chicken for about 15 minutes. If you don't have a BBQ grill, just roast in the oven or even put in the crockpot as described below. Back to the BBQ- go heat it up now!

1. Combine first 7 ingredients and set aside.

2. Remove and discard giblets and neck from chicken (my FAVORITE part!). Trim excess fat. Place chicken, breast side down, on a cutting surface. cut chicken in half lengthwise along backbone, cutting to, not not through, other side. turn chicken over. Starting at neck cavity, loosen skin from breast and drumsticks by inserting fingers, gently pushing between skin and meat. Rub spice mixture under skin. Gently press skin to secure.

3. Place chicken, breast side down, on grill rack coated with cooking spray over direct heat; cover and cook 7 minutes. Turn chicken over; cook 7 minutes. If you are fancy and have a big grill, move chicken to an area with indirect heat, cover, and cook for 45 minutes. If you are me, bring back in the house, and throw it in the oven at 350 degrees until a thermometer inserted registers 165 degrees. (About 40 minutes). If you are REALLY short on time, throw that bad boy chicken in the crockpot while you're out and about, making sure to add a couple cups of water or chicken broth to the crock pot to help it steam.

4. Once the chicken reaches 165 degress via any cooking method, it's dinner time!