Today we roasted our first chicken in the Weber. Very easy and tasty!
As instructed by the Weber cookbook I put a layer of foil under the roasting trivet to diffuse the heat from the grate, and cut some slits in the foil for fat to drain. I preheated the barbecue on high for 10 minutes, then dialed the heat down a couple of notches once I put the chicken in.
The chicken was prepared pretty simply – rubbed down with olive oil and then a generous sprinkling of flaked salt. It was 1.4kg and roasted for 1.5 hours.
James just looked at the photo and was like “that looks like someone throwing up”, and now I can’t unsee it. The chicken totally looks like a dude throwing up in the gutter.
Also he has warts on his back.
It’s like the time I took a photo of a bird butt hanging over the edge of a pole (I can’t remember why I took it – I think I was having lunch with Margs and Kim and the butt was hanging over Kim’s head, and we all thought that was funny that she might get pooped on). But when I later showed the bird butt photo to Cat, she was like “is that a rabbit standing on a chimney?”
Anyway, the barbecue did an admirable job. The chicken was fall-off-the-bone tender and the skin was crispy and salty. Looking at the scorched foil, I’m glad it was there to catch the juice/fat that dripped from the chicken. I’m sure it would have been a bitch to clean. I’ve been checking out the gunk that accumulates in the barbecue’s drip tray – it’s perversely satisfying, much like looking at those Biore nose strips or pressing on a bruise.
Also I am conscious that vomit, warts, bird poo, pore strips and bruises are less-than-appetizing images to associate with the roast chicken, which was lovely and deserves better than that, so moving on …
While the chicken rested I made a quick salad, and James and I each had about 1/4 of the chicken for lunch. I’m pretty sure you could roast 2 chickens side by side in the barbecue, with plenty of room for air to circulate. I just sent an email to Liz to ask for the recipe for a garlic and parsley marinade that she used on some barbecued quails. It was insanely tasty, and if the recipe is unfussy I think it would be a great barbecue staple.
Diary of a Pampered Housewife 
Have you done two chickens yet? I followed what the Livestrong blog said and put plonked my chook on the grill. The underside is total blackness. I think I will try your method next time. 😉
I haven’t yet, sorry. Good luck with the indirect heat method – it’s a bit fiddlier at the start (compared to plonking!) but the results are way less charred. 😀