Beautifully grilled half chicken is elegant comfort food that draws us to the table to enjoy the deliciously crispy skin and tender, juicy meat. The flavor of this meat with a homemade teriyaki BBQ sauce cannot be beaten.
Serving up these BBQ chicken halves at your cookouts guarantees that you will receive nothing but praise as everyone licks their chops and asks for another serving.
Grilled beer can chicken is one of our staple BBQ recipes but when we want a similar experience in way less time, we go for the half chicken. It’s inexpensive, often found on sale, and just as tasty!
One of my favorite ways to jazz up this humble cut of meat is with my easy homemade Teriyaki BBQ sauce. This is a dump, stir, and boil for 15 minutes affair you can even make a day ahead.
In fact, it’s even better after one day in the fridge – all the flavors have time to mingle!
🐔 Ingredients
🛒Chicken – Buy a whole chicken and cut it in half. If your grill is large enough you can cook more than one chicken at a time.
🛒Dry Rub – I used my all-purpose dry rub for grilling but poultry lends itself well to a variety of flavors so feel free to adjust it or use a different rub. My version uses the following ingredients (all easy to find):
- Brown sugar
- Sweet paprika
- Black pepper (coarse ground)
- Sea or Kosher salt (coarse)
- Onion powder
- Garlic powder
- Celery seed
🛒BBQ Sauce – Our delicious Teriyaki BBQ Sauce is the perfect sauce for grilled half chicken! You will need:
- Garlic
- Soy sauce
- Teriyaki sauce
- BBQ sauce
- Honey
- Molasses
- Dried onions
✂️ How To Cut A Chicken In Half
👉Step 1: With a sturdy, sharp knife, cut through the cartilage to one side of the breast bone. You’ll feel it when the knife cuts through.
👉Step 2: Open up the chicken and cut through one side of the spine. It is easier to do this from the inside of the bird. If you have poultry shears, they will make the job much easier.
Note: You can cut on the other side of the spine as well to remove it completely, but it certainly isn’t necessary.
🔥 Instructions
🥣 Teriyaki BBQ Sauce
👉Step 1: Measure all the ingredients and add them to a small pot. Stir to combine and bring to a boil.
👉Step 2: Once the sauce is boiling, reduce the heat to low, and give it a good stir.
👉Step 3: Simmer for 15 minutes.
👉Step 4: Let it cool completely before using. It will thicken and become sticky as it comes down to room temperature.
Make-Ahead Option: The flavors will have even more time to blend if you let the sauce sit in the fridge for up to 24 hours before using.
♨️ Season & Grill
👉Step 1: Liberally coat both sides of the chicken halves with a BBQ dry rub.
👉Step 2: Set up the grill for indirect heat and bring the temperature to 350°F.
👉Step 3: Place the two half chickens skin side down on the grill and let them cook for 20 minutes.
👉Step 4: Turn them over and cook with the skin side up for another 20 minutes.
👉Step 5: When the chicken halves are around 155ºF internal temperature, brush the BBQ sauce on both sides and let them finish cooking.
👉Step 6. Remove when the internal temperature reaches 165ºF. Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Tip: Don’t forget the last step of putting out the charcoal grill when you’re done. Better safe than sorry!
⏲ How Long to Grill Half Chicken?
These are cooked over indirect heat for 20 minutes per side and then start brushing the BBQ sauce on. Finish cooking when the internal temperature reaches 165ºF, per the USDA. These directions work for both a charcoal grill or a propane version.
🔪 Meal Prep
🔹Chicken | You can cut the chicken in half as soon as you purchase it so that it is ready to grill when you come home from work. Make sure to keep the cut chicken halves in a sealed plastic bag in your refrigerator for no longer than 2 days after purchase.
🔹Teriyaki BBQ Sauce | Make it one day ahead for a better blend of flavors and thicker consistency. And, of course, to save time when you’re ready to grill!
🔹Cooked Chicken Meat | If removed from the bone, the chicken meat can be frozen in freezer-safe baggies or containers and used in future recipes such as tacos, rice bowls, salads, quesadillas, or soups. It will keep for up to 3 months in the freezer.
It can also be cooked over the weekend and used for quick lunchbox meals.
🔄 Substitutions
👍Dry Rub | Changing the dry rub turns the humble grilled chicken into a new culinary adventure. If you’re a fan of Mexican flavors, try my homemade Yukatan dry rub. Here are a few more great flavor blends for grilled chicken you can explore:
- Herbaceous & Citrus: Dried rosemary, thyme, garlic powder, lemon zest, and black pepper.
- Smoky Chipotle: Ground chipotle pepper, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and cumin.
- Mediterranean: Dried oregano, thyme, garlic powder, onion powder, lemon zest, and sea salt.
- Sweet and Spicy: Brown sugar, chili powder, paprika, ground cumin, cayenne pepper, and black pepper.
👍BBQ Sauce | This is another recipe aspect you can play with. I love trying new BBQ sauces, and as you can see, making your own is very easy.
Some of my favorites for poultry include the Hawaiian BBQ sauce, the smoked pumpkin Bourbon BBQ sauce, and the cherry Bourbon BBQ sauce.
🍽️ Serving Suggestions
This is chicken we’re talking about so without going into well-known options like mashed potatoes and French fries, you have even more possibilities:
- A fresh, zesty coleslaw or a classic Caesar salad to add a crisp contrast.
- Veggie sides like smoked asparagus bundles, grilled patty pan squash, grilled roasted root vegetables, or grilled broccolini for a smoky side.
- A creamy smoked potato salad or cheesy grilled potato skins for a hearty pairing.
- Grilled beer corn on the cob, for a sweet and crunchy texture.
- A light and textured grilled peach and arugula salad for a refreshing side.
❓ FAQ
I recommend a slightly different approach to cut chicken in half for grilling. Cut down one side of the backbone leaving the center of the backbone on one side.
Spatchcocking or butterflying is another excellent technique to shorten the grilling time without cutting the bird into parts. In a nutshell, this method will flatten the bird. Try our grilled butterflied whole chicken recipe and see if you like this better than grilling chicken halves.
There are so many variables to this question. The grilled half-chicken recipe below will take you about an hour on direct heat. Always cook to an internal temperature of 165 degrees for poultry per the USDA.
For other chicken cuts visit our how long to grill chicken guide.
More Choices for Grilled Chicken
Beer Can Chicken on the Big Green Egg
Grilled Butterflied Whole Chicken
Grilled Chicken with Pico De Gallo
Huli Huli Chicken on the Big Green Egg
Related Recipes
Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. You can also stay in touch with me through social media by following me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook!
Grilled Half Chicken
Equipment
- Grill
- Small sauce pan
- Poultry Shears
Ingredients
Half Chicken
- 1 whole Chicken cut in half
Teriyaki BBQ Sauce
- ½ cup Honey
- ¾ cup BBQ Sauce we used Sweet Baby Ray's
- ½ cup Molasses
- ¼ cup Teriyaki Sauce
- ⅛ cup Soy Sauce
- 3 cloves Garlic
- 2 tbsp Dried Onions
All Purpose Dry Rub For Grilling (full recipe here)
- 1/3 cup Brown Sugar
- 1/4 cup Sweet Paprika
- 3 tbsp Black Pepper
- 1-2 tbsp Sea or Kosher Salt
- 2 tsp Onion Powder
- 2 tsp Garlic Powder
- 2 tsp Celery Seed
Instructions
Making the Teriyaki BBQ Sauce
- Add all the ingredients into a small pot and bring to a boil. Stir to make sure it is well combined.
- Once it comes to a full boil, stir and reduce the heat to low.
- Let the sauce simmer for 15 minutes.
- Allow to cool completely. The sauce will thicken and become sticky as it cools.**This is even better the next day if you have the opportunity to make it ahead.**
Cutting The Chicken In Half
- With a sturdy, sharp knife, cut through the cartilage to one side of the breast bone. You'll feel it when the knife cuts through.
- Open up the chicken and cut through one side of the spine. It is easier to do this from the inside of the bird. If you have poultry shears, you might find using that easier.
Grilling the Half Chicken
- Liberally coat both sides of the chicken halves with a BBQ dry rub.
- Set up the grill for direct heat at 350°F. **Remember if it's too hot the inside will not cook while the outside will overcook.
- Place the two chicken halves skin side down and let it cook for 20 minutes.
- Turn them over and cook with the skin side up for another 20 minutes.
- When the chicken's internal temperature is about 155°F degrees, brush the BBQ sauce on both sides and let it finish cooking.
- Remove when the internal temperature reaches 165°F. Let the chicken halves rest for 10-15 minutes before cutting into it so the juices stay inside the chicken.
Notes
Nutrition
Jason’s been firing up the grill for over 30 years after graduating from the US Coast Guard Academy. His love of finely-grilled steak and chicken led him to buy his first Weber grill to put on his apartment patio in 1992. Each military move led to a new grill (a mixture of gas and charcoal) until he fell in love with the Big Green Egg in 2008. Since then, he has added another 4 grills to the collection. Yes, he has a problem. Jason loves smoking in the ceramic BGE with exotic woods including olive wood from Egypt and hard to find varieties such as sassafras and orange wood. Jason takes the term “foodie” to a whole new level, jumping at the chance to take food tours and cooking classes during foreign travels. These have provided inspiration to incorporate new ideas into recipes when he gets back home. He has been featured in Fox News, Parade, Yahoo News, Kansas City Living and more. After retiring from the military and moving to southwest Florida, he has focused grilling and smoking locally sourced meats and fish (read: he likes to catch his own fish!)
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