The Original Simon & Garfunkel Grilled Chicken Recipe

Steps

1. 1Cut
2. 2Prep. Cut out the spine and then cut the bird into parts, including the breasts, wings, and drum with thigh combo. If you wish, remove the skins. If time permits, salt the meat an hour or two before cooking and keep it in the fridge. This is called dry brining.
3. 3Wet the the chicken parts lightly with water and sprinkle the rub on generously.
4. 4Preheat
5. 5Fire up. Preheat the grill using a 2-zone setup. On a gas grill, turn the burners on one side to medium or high as seen in the photo at right. On a charcoal grill, light your coals and push them all to one side. Shoot for 325°F (163°C) on the other, indirect heat side. You cannot measure the temp properly with a center mounted lid thermometer. Get a good digital grill thermometer that has a probe that you can place on the indirect side near the grate, where the meat is. 325°F (163°C) is a good temperature for browning skin and melting fat, and it is not too hot so there will not be a lot of shrinkage or toughening of proteins the meat. The skin will shrink a bit. If you haven't read it yet, now would be a good time to look over my article on calibrating your grill. If you want, you can throw some wood chunks on the fire. Don't soak the wood (click here to read more about how to use wood and why you don't need to soak it).
6. 6Roast
7. 7Cook. Place the meat on the indirect heat side and close the lid. You probably won't need to flip the pieces, so just let them get nice and brown on the bottoms, but check to make sure the bottoms aren't burning. As the meat roasts on the indirect side, juices and flavors aren't squeezed out by the high heat, the skin doesn't burn, and there will be no flareups. When the white meat hits about 145°F (63°C), flip it skin side down and place it on the other side over the direct heat. Move the dark meat over the direct heat when it hits about 150°F (65°C). On a gas grill, I crank it full bore and flip it every minute or two so both sides get good and dark, but don't burn. As the white meat hits 155°F (68°C) and the dark meat 165°F (75°C), take them off. The white meat will rise to the safe serving temp of 160°F (71°C) and dark meat will rise to its optimal temperature of about 170°F (77°C).
8. 8Serve. Plate and serve the chicken immediately.