Grilling a whole chicken on a gas grill doesn’t need fancy prep or spatchcocking. Just season, brush with butter, and cook it using indirect heat. You’ll get juicy meat and crispy skin—no cutting required.
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- 🐓 Ingredients
- 👨🍳Quick Overview: Grilling a Whole Chicken Without Spatchcocking
- ⏲️ How Long to Grill a Whole Chicken
- 🧂 Seasoning Options
- 🔥 Grill Setup for Indirect Cooking
- 🍗 Related Recipes
- 🌡️ Recommended Thermometers
- 🍴 How to Serve Grilled Whole Chicken
- ❄️How to Store Leftovers
- ❓FAQs
- ⚕️Food Safety
- 📖The Recipe Card with Step-by-Step Instructions
Featured Comment by Janice :
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"Best. Ever. Why would you ever BBQ a whole chicken any other way? No changes to the recipe. Perfect the way it is. Thanks!!"
🧡 Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- No spatchcocking needed: Skip the scissors—this method keeps the bird whole and simple.
- Golden skin, juicy meat: Indirect heat cooks both white and dark meat perfectly—tender inside, beautifully browned outside.
- Beginner-friendly grilling: No flipping or fussing. Just set it and let the grill do the work.
- Flavor your way: Use basic salt and pepper, a BBQ rub, or your favorite herb blend.
🐓 Ingredients
- Whole chicken (4–6 pounds): A good size for even cooking. Larger birds may overbrown before fully cooked.
- Butter (melted): For browning and crisp skin.
- Seasoning: Coarse salt and black pepper. Garlic powder is a nice touch but optional.
- Optional: Add dried herbs or a BBQ dry rub for extra flavor.
Required equipment: Grill surface thermometer and an instant-read thermometer—don’t guess on temps.
👨🍳Quick Overview: Grilling a Whole Chicken Without Spatchcocking
1. Set-up the grill
Prepare your grill for indirect cooking. Aim for a surface temperature of about 400°F in the indirect zone.
2. Prepare and season the chicken
Clean, trim, and pat dry the chicken—do not rinse. Truss the legs and tuck the wings under. Brush with melted butter and season to taste with kosher salt and pepper. We also like to add garlic powder.
✅Pro Tip: Trussing (tying the legs together) pulls them toward the center, helping the chicken cook more evenly. Use kitchen twine—it’s made for this job.
3. Grilling the chicken
Grilling Part 1:
Place the chicken on the grill with one thigh angled toward the direct heat. Close the lid and leave it alone for 40 minutes.
Grilling Part 2:
At 40 minutes, rotate the bird so the other thigh faces the heat. Brush with more butter, close the lid, and continue grilling until the breast reaches 165°F.
4. Rest
Let the chicken rest for 5–10 minutes before carving to keep the juices in the meat.
✅ Pro Tip: Cutting too soon lets juices run out. Letting it rest makes every slice juicier.
👇For complete step-by-step instructions, scroll down to the printable recipe card or keep reading for tips, flavor options, and serving suggestions.
⏲️ How Long to Grill a Whole Chicken
A 5-pound whole chicken will take about 80 minutes to grill over indirect heat at 400°F on a gas grill. Times will vary depending on grill setup and bird size. Pellet and charcoal grills work just as well—if you have room for true indirect cooking and can hold the heat steady.
A spatchcocked (butterflied) chicken will cook in about half the time, thanks to the flatter shape.
✅ Pro Tip: The chicken is safe to eat at 165°F in the thickest parts, but aim for 185°F in the thighs for the best texture. Always use a thermometer—guessing leads to dry or undercooked chicken.
🧂 Seasoning Options
Classic butter, garlic, and salt work beautifully—but chicken is a blank canvas. Add herbs, a BBQ rub, or spice it up your way.
More seasoning ideas:
Rosemary, thyme, lemon-butter blends, or my All-Purpose Seasoning Salt are all solid choices.
♨️ BBQ Whole Chicken
Use a BBQ dry rub like Memphis or Chipotle. Brush with butter, season generously, and serve with your favorite BBQ sauce.
🔥 Spicy Rotisserie-Style
For bold flavor, try this spicy rub after brushing with butter:
- 4 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp each: black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, dried thyme
- 2 tsp paprika and sugar
- Optional: ¼–½ tsp cayenne for heat
🔥 Grill Setup for Indirect Cooking
With indirect grilling, only part of the grill surface is over an active burner (direct side), and the other part (the indirect side) has the burners turned off. This setup gives you the gentle, even heat needed for whole chicken.
Gas grills vary, so check your model. You’ll want a surface temp of 350° to 400°F in the indirect zone. For more help, see A Beginners Guide to Grill Temperature on a Gas Grill and How To Set Up Your Gas Grill for Smoking and Low and Slow Cooking.
🌲 Using Wood Chips for Smoke (Optional)
- Want a touch of smoky flavor? Add wood chips over the direct heat side.
- Keep the lid closed to trap the smoke during cooking.
- Use a smoker box, foil pouch, or a dedicated tray if your grill has one.
- Hickory and applewood pair great with chicken.
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🍗 Related Recipes
Once you’ve mastered whole chicken on the grill, try more bone-in favorites:
- Oven Baked Whole Chicken – No grill? This is your go-to for indoor roasting.
- Grilled Chicken Legs – Juicy and flavorful with crispy skin.
- Grilled Bone-in Chicken Thighs – Easy to season and quick to grill.
- Grilled Split Chicken Breasts – Tender white meat without drying out.
If you are interested in the Spatchcock technique of flattening and cooking a whole chicken, check out my easy recipe. This will also work well if you want to grill half a chicken.
🌡️ Recommended Thermometers
You can make this work with a grill surface thermometer and an instant-read thermometer—but a two-probe remote thermometer makes it easier. You’ll keep an eye on both grill temp and meat temp without opening the lid or playing guessing games.
🔧 DrDan Tip: Never trust your grill’s built-in thermometer. It’s often off by 50°F or more.
Affiliate Disclosure:
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. I also earn from other affiliate programs. These links help support the site—but they won’t affect your price.
Smoke™ by Thermoworks™
Thermapen™ One from Thermoworks™
ThermoPro TP19 Instant Read Thermometer
CDN Grill Surface Thermometer
These are examples of what I use, but many other great options are available at Amazon or your local big box store.
🍴 How to Serve Grilled Whole Chicken
Let the chicken rest for 5–10 minutes before carving—this helps the juices redistribute so every bite stays moist.
Serve it up with simple sides like Stovetop French Fries, Grilled Baby Potatoes, a side salad, or Grilled Pineapple Slices for something sweet.
❄️How to Store Leftovers
Store leftover chicken in an airtight container—refrigerate for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Cold slices are great on salads, or repurpose them into basic chicken salad or Waldorf Chicken Salad for a quick meal.
❓FAQs
Resting helps juices reabsorb into the meat after cooking. Skip it, and you’ll lose that moisture all over your cutting board.
Aim for 165°F in the thickest part of the breast for food safety. Always use a thermometer—don’t trust guesswork or grill timers.
Thighs are tougher cuts and become tender at around 185°F. In this method, they’re angled toward the hotter side of the grill, so they cook faster—and benefit from some extra radiant heat. That lets them hit the ideal temp without overcooking the breast meat.
⚕️Food Safety
Don’t rinse raw chicken—it spreads bacteria around your sink and counters. See Why Not to Rinse Raw Chicken? for more.
The USDA recommends an internal temp of 165°F in the thickest parts for safe chicken. For best texture, aim for 185°F in the thighs and legs.
Don’t stuff the cavity with anything that will be eaten. It must also reach 165°F, which usually means the rest of the bird ends up overcooked.
Always wash your hands before and after handling raw chicken, and store it below 40°F—well away from ready-to-eat foods.
📖The Recipe Card with Step-by-Step Instructions
Grilled Whole Chicken Without Spatchcocking
Ingredients
- 4 pound whole chicken - 4-6 pound range. Bigger will take longer.
- 2 tablespoons butter
- Kosher salt and pepper to taste - Or seasoning of your choice.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Start with setting up your grill for indirect cooking. Clean and oil the grates. Turn the burners that will be on to full heat and watch the grill's surface temperature. Aim for 350° to 400° in the indirect area—adjust the burners as needed.
- Clean, trim, and pat dry the chicken—do not rinse. Be sure to remove any giblets.
- Melt 2 tablespoons butter in the microwave and brush all sides of the bird. Save the remainder for brushing the bird during the rotation on the grill. Season to taste with kosher salt and pepper. We use my All-Purpose Seasoning Mix, which has salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
- Place on the grill with indirect heat, angling one thigh and the leg to the direct heat side. Close the lid, and don't touch it for 40 minutes.
- Rotate the bird at 40 minutes angling the other thigh towards the heat. Give it a brush of butter and continue grilling until the internal temperature of the breast is 165°.
- Allow to rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips
- A good estimate of cooking time is 15-20 minutes per pound. But there is also variability due to the difference between grills.
- I suggest a 4-6 pound chicken. You can try bigger, but the skin may get overdone.
- Getting the grill set up correctly is the key to doing this right the first and every time.
- The grill surface temperature and the internal temperature of the chicken must be monitored. Remote monitoring is suggested but not required.
- Never trust a grill hood thermometer, and never cook by time alone.
- If you want BBQ whole chicken, use a dry rub to season.
- The minimum safe internal temperature for chicken is 165°. Aim for that in the middle of the breast. You will want to have the thighs or legs in the 185° range if you can.
Your Own Private Notes
To adjust the recipe size:
You can adjust the number of servings above; however, only the amount in the ingredient list is adjusted, not the instructions.
Nutrition Estimate (may vary)
Originally Published June 11, 2017. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
John Kennedy says
Breast up or down?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi John,
Welcome to the blog.
Breast up positioned with one leg and thigh towards the heat, then halfway though cooking, rotate to the other thigh/leg pointing to the heat still with the breast up.
Dan
Dale says
Glad I found this recipe. My wife usually cooks whole chicken in her Japanese steam oven. I wanted to grill today so I loosely followed instructions and it came out perfect.
Janice says
Best. Ever.
Why would you ever bbq a whole chicken any other way. No changes to the recipe. Perfect the way it is.
Thanks!!
Arletha Collins says
I like whole chickens and I like to Barbecue I don’t fry good chicken so grilling is best for me,Thanks.
mark jaffe says
I tried this one but the bottom/thighs did not cook. The legs and breast were done and the thighs almost raw. Any ideas about why?
Thank
MJ
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Mark,
Welcome to the blog.
This would be a temperature issue. Be sure you are measuring the grill surface temperature in that area and not someplace else. I have had a few grill surface thermometers that were just wrong. So a new surface thermometer may be needed.
Also, be sure you have the thigh angled to the hot side. You may need to angle it more that way.
Dan
Robert says
Thank you so much for this...I had a whole chicken to cook and really didn't want to heat up my kitchen on a 94 degree day. This was perfect and easily within my skill set.
I used my 3-burner Ducane propane grill and it worked out so well. I heated the grill on all 3 burners, then turned off the center one and dropped the chicken on the grill over that area. I turned the other 2 burners to a more moderate setting and spread out the wings and legs away from the chicken body.
Came back in 40 minutes (as instructed), brushed on the rest of the melted butter and let it go another 10 minutes. Checked the temperature and it was perfect. Pulled it off the grill, let it rest a bit, and voila! a perfect bird.
Again, can't thank you enough!