Name:   Ulysses E. McGill - Subject:   beer chicken Date:   7/1/2014 6:13:55 PM (updated 7/1/2014 6:37:34 PM)

Purest.... thats funny from someone who swears by Toneys and a uses a gas grill. Actually, I like Toneys at times but I usually combine my own spices.  The racks help greatly for ease and uniformity, but you can get by without them. For John Boy: I'm sure Pontoonfishers chicken is good and certainly worth a try if you're using gas,  but always remember that a big key with chicken (or turkey) is holding in the moisture.  Two of the best ways for holding moisture are not overcooking and wrapping the bird for the cooling process. Pontoonfisher sugestion about using the drippings is good for enhansing flavor and adding moisture back to the meat.... and may even help save a mistake .  Injection is similar. Over a wood fire you can get great natural flavor with little or no added spices.  PF also brought up the good point of using indirect heat....for me this is obvious, but I haven't used a direct heat gas grill in over 20 years. Always protect a whole bird from flames.  I strongly suggest you use some form of charcoal or wood (thats the purest in me) but I also suggest an electric starter and staying away from fluids. An inexpensive way  to do this is with a Weber kettle grill, but if you get big into cooking out on a regular basis consider a Kamado type cooker. Both of these options offer excellent indirect cooking capability and flareups are controled with airflow.

PS...I always wash my chickens. Bacteria is bacteria, and less is better if some gets washed off (thats the Biologist in me).