Grilled Lemon Rosemary Roasted Chicken

Make one whole chicken

• 1 4-5 pound whole chicken, washed and patted dry
• olive oil
• 1/2 lemon sliced thinly
• 3-4 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat your gas grill. I like to used a heavy pan for cooking on the grill like a 13 x 9 inch enameled cast iron baking dish. Finely chop the leaves of one stalk of rosemary and mix it with the salt and pepper in a small bowl. Set aside.

Place your chicken in the pan. Pour a generous amount of olive oil over the chicken. Using your hands, rub the olive oil all over the chicken. Slip your fingers under the skin on the breast and legs of the chicken. Slip slices of lemon between the skin and the breast.

Rub some of the salt mixture inside the cavity of the chicken. Pour the rest over the skin of the chicken rubbing it into the skin to distribute evenly. Place the remaining stalks of rosemary inside the cavity of the chicken with a couple of slices of lemon. Tie the legs together loosely with kitchen twine.

Take the chicken to your grill. Depending on how your grill works, turn off one or two of the gas jets, leaving one or two of the outside jets going. Place the pan in the center of the grill and put the lid down. Check the progress periodically to baste the chicken with the pan juices or to tent the chicken with foil, if it is getting too brown.

Check the chicken temperature with an instant read thermometer. Remove the chicken from the grill when the internal temperature is 185 degrees F. Cover with foil and let sit for 10 minutes before serving. Cool completely before covering and placing in your refrigerator.