Make Grilled Lemon Chicken
Even if you are a grill novice, you can make this Grilled Lemon Chicken. It is easy to do and hard to burn it.
Ingredients
- 1/4 stick of butter
- 2 large lemons
- Garlic salt
- Coarse ground pepper
- Hickory chunks
- Chicken halves
Steps
- Obtain the necessary ingredients and equipment listed above.
- Rinse the chicken halves in cool water.
- Put charcoal in a pile in the bottom of the barbecue grill and stack several good sized hickory chunks on top of the charcoal.
- Add charcoal lighter and torch it all off.
- Wait until the charcoals have a grey ash covering them and spread them out evenly along with the smoking hickory chunks.
- Place the grill over the evenly spread out coals.
- Using a grill brush, brush off the grill and allow a few minutes for the grill to get nice and hot.
- Place the chicken halves on the grill when hot with the bony side down, and put the cover down so the smoke and heat will simultaneously cook all sides of the chicken halves.
- Cut and juice two large lemons.
- Melt one stick of butter. (If you are careful, you can do this in a heat resistant bowl on the grill or just melt it in the microwave using only 20 second bursts until the butter is completely melted.
- Add the lemon juice to the melted butter and stir with a spoon.
- Use a basting brush and baste the chicken halves every 5 minutes with the melted butter and lemon juice mixture.
- Continue grilling and basting the chicken for about 20 minutes minimum.
- Do not turn the chicken over, just keep basting it and occasionally shaking on a little garlic salt and coarse ground pepper.
- Test the chicken to see if it is done by poking it in a joint and making sure that any juices that run out run clear.
- Place it on a clean plate once the juices run clear and the chicken is done. It is now ready to serve!
Tips
- Cook for at least 20 minutes or longer until the juices run clear when poked.
- Keep the lid to the grill closed except when basting, seasoning or inspecting the chicken.
- Use more lemon and butter if you are grilling more than 1 whole chicken. Use all the butter / lemon mixture, you can never use too much.
- Never turn the chicken, allow it to remain bony side down.
- Contrary to directions, throw the hickory chunks on the coals dry, don't soak them in water.
- Use hickory chunks as big as your fist.
Warnings
- Never use the same plate for the raw and cooked chicken, always use a clean plate.
- You need only to make this once and your guests will demand you repeat your culinary delight at each and every grillfest you attend.
- Be careful with the butter in the microwave or on the grill when melting.
- Make sure all the lighter fluid has burned off the charcoal and it has a grey ash covering it.
- You need to have enough sense to use a barbecue grill without burning the house down or yourself for that matter.
Things You'll Need
- Charcoal grill with cover or a smoker grill
- Charcoal
- Charcoal lighter fluid
