Perfect Roasted Whole Chicken Glazed With BBQ Sauce

A complete guide to achieve such perfect tender, juicy, super delicious and amazingly good looking roasted whole chicken.

This Thanksgiving I will trade a big, giant turkey for a medium size chicken. And it must be this dry-brine perfect roasted whole chicken glazed with sweet and spicy BBQ sauce.

When it comes to roasted chicken, the simpler the method, the better it will turn out. That is why the dry-brine method is a perfect pick for this roasting recipe.

What is dry-brine?

Dry-brine, or rubs, is a spice mixture that contains at least two basic ingredients: salt and pepper. It not only helps to tenderize the meat but also to make the meat taste super delicious and look undoubtedly amazing.

You can go wild and crazy with dry-brine mixture as much as you want. It can be simple with only salt and pepper, or it can be over complicated with thousands of secret ingredients.

Ultimately, the flavor of the dry-brine brings to the table is much more than just plain salty. At the end of the day it comes down to “How do you want it to taste” while building the dry-brine/rub mixture.

Since I will glaze this roasted whole chicken with the amazing sweet and spicy BBQ sauce, I try not to go over complicated with the rub.

Ingredients in this roasted chicken rub

This basic rub only includes a short list of common and easy to find ingredients. Every rub should always start with a base of salt and pepper.

The goal of this chicken rub is to complement a nice roasted chicken at the end of the process. So any add-on spices should be an appropriate amount just enough to taste.

Salt – I only use Kosher salt in all of my recipes. I like it because it easier to control than regular table salt. As a rule of thumb, the thicker the meat, the more salt you’ll need in the rub.

• In this recipe, I only used 1.5 teaspoon salt for a regular commercial kitchen which weights about 2.5lb. So always trust your instinct if you’re using smaller, bigger or different breed of chicken.

Ground black pepper – I used finely ground black pepper but this can be changed based on everybody’s personal references. If you want a lot of texture of pepper appeared on the skin of the chicken, you can always opt out for coarse black pepper.

Smoked salt – This ingredient is completely optional. I like to sprinkle a little amount of smoked salt on the surface of chicken to bring out the smoky taste without the use of the real smoker.

• If you don’t use smoked salt, just add the same amount on top of regular Kosher salt called for.

Garlic powder – I love garlic and I would love to use it everywhere as much as possible. Just don’t use fresh garlic as it won’t work for dry rub.

• Fresh garlic is too strong and will over power other ingredients. Not to mention it is easily to burn.

Ground mustard seed – I used ground mustard to add a tangy heat to my roasted chicken without over power the rest of the ingredients. You can switch it out for onion powder if it is not available to you.

How can I know when roasted chicken is done?

The most common method is using an instant-read thermometer. Insert the thermometer in the thickest part of the chicken, usually the thigh, and away from any bones. The chicken should be done cooking when its internal temperature reaches 165F – 170F.

For this recipe, the chicken should not spend more than an hour in the oven.

What if I want to use wet-brine method for this perfect roasted whole chicken?

You definitely can.

This dry-brine oven roasted BBQ chicken is a perfect alternative to a whole giant turkey for this Thanksgiving dinner. However, you can also use a wet-brine method to perfect this chicken.

Just reduce the amount of brining by third in this roasted whole turkey recipe, then you have a perfect mixture to proceed with marinade process.