Have some extra apple cider from your trip to the farm this fall? Try grilling a half chicken and then smothering some Apple Cider BBQ all over the bird! Grilling a half chicken gives you so many options for spices and sauces. So check out this recipe for half chicken smothered in Apple Cider BBQ sauce and try something new!
Why you’ll get compliments from this half chicken recipe.
Juicy – When grilled properly, half chicken is very moist and flavorful due the bone and skin.
Apple Cider BBQ sauce – This sauce smells and tastes like fall and has a nice sweetness from the apple cider.
Grilled Half Chicken
How to Grill a Half Chicken.
Take the Chicken out of the fridge and bring to room temperature.
Bring your gas grill up to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Place on the grill grates with the skin side up. Place it over direct heat and set the burner at low. Leave the other burners at medium high. Close the grill lid and keep the grill temp at 375 degrees F.
After 15 minutes lift up the grill lid and with a good pair of tongs rotate the chicken 30 degrees and close the lid again. Continue to grill for another 10 minutes .
Open the grill lid and flip the birds so the skin side is down directly over medium high heat for five minutes. You want to give the chicken some grill marks.
After the five minutes has passed, open the lid and flip the birds back with skin side up. Begin to put on the BBQ sauce over the bird and check the internal temp with a meat thermometer.
According to the U. S. Department of Agriculture chicken should be brought up to an internal temp of at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit, but with bone in chicken it’s good to go a little above just to be safe. Feel free to bring it up to 185 degrees Fahrenheit.
Add another layer of sauce and remove from the grill. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes and add the last layer of BBQ sauce.
Half Chicken with Apple Cider BBQ Sauce.
Roasting Half Chicken vs Grilling Half Chicken
When done properly grilling a half a chicken will produce better results compared to roasting half a chicken. The reason why is because you can grill over direct heat and add grill marks to the bird which helps with flavor but then slow grill on indirect heat with the grill lid down which is the same as roasting in the oven. So, you get the best of both cooking techniques.
BBQ chicken on the grill
Apple Cider vs Apple Juice as the base of your BBQ sauce.
BBQ chicken
Apple Cider is unfiltered apple juice. If you buy a quality apple cider the quality taste will come thru so much better compared to apple juice. This will make your sauce taste so much better. With the apple juice the sauce will be a little too sweet vs a BBQ sauce with apple cider which will have some of the apple tartness shine thru. This will bring in the compliments!
Chicken with apple cider BBQ sauce
So next time you are at a farm grab a little extra apple cider to make a sweet tart BBQ sauce that goes great with grilled chicken. If you are looking for more grilling ideas check out these other chicken recipes from Sear Marks.
Bone In Chicken topped with Basil Pesto
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