There’s nothing like the taste of Old School BBQ chicken, but you’ll be hard-pressed to find anything comparable in restaurants or grocery stores. This type of BBQ requires a little patience and someone willing to get in the trenches with the meat. My Old School BBQ Chicken uses a timeless method that infuses every bite of chicken with a rich, smoky flavor.

I cooked the meat over a two-zone fire, giving it that ultimate kiss of char. This nostalgic dish uses simple ingredients that let the meat's flavor shine. Of course, you can’t have BBQ chicken without a good basting sauce, so I whipped up a homemade glaze that takes the chicken to a whole new level. This is the ultimate recipe for family picnics, dinner, or game day. Without further ado, let’s get grilling!

Old School BBQ Chicken | Heath Riles BBQ

The best part about this recipe is how you can customize it. For example, you can use chicken wings, breasts, or thighs instead of a whole bird. You can also decrease or increase the heat depending on who you're serving. You can also use this recipe as a base and swap the basting sauce for BBQ, buffalo, or even a dry rub. The sky’s the limit!

The Ingredients

Here’s what you need to make a delicious batch of Old School BBQ Chicken.

A whole chicken. Using a whole chicken gives you about 8 pieces of delicious meat. This is also extremely budget-friendly and adds to the old-school vibe.

Extra-virgin olive oil. This recipe has a lot going on flavor-wise, so I wanted to keep the binder simple. I used extra-virgin olive oil as it’s mild yet effective.

Heath Riles BBQ Chicken Rub. This delicious rub contains a proprietary blend of herbs that makes poultry shine. You can also use it on steaks, vegetables, casseroles, or anything else your heart desires.

Heath Riles BBQ Cajun Creole Garlic Butter Rub. This unique rub will bring a taste of NOLA to your life. Add a dash to meatloaf, burgers, chicken wings, or seafood for a burst of Cajun flavor.

Heath Riles BBQ Tangy Vinegar BBQ Sauce. I created this sauce because I wanted a vinegar-based sauce that wasn’t too tangy. I succeeded, and this sauce has become a staple in my BBQ. You can use it alone or pair it with a ketchup-based sauce.

The Grill Setup

Here’s the main equipment I used for this recipe. More of my grilling favorites are in the Equipment and Tools section.

Kettle Grill. I cooked my Old School BBQ Chicken on the Weber Kettle Grill . This simple pit is durable, easy to store, and small enough to fit in tight spaces. You can jazz it up by purchasing fun accessories, like the Vortex Chimney, a must for two-zone fires.
Charcoal. I stoked the pit with Royal Oak Charcoal Super-Sized Briquettes and Royal Oak Tumbleweeds, a winning combination. Royal Oak Charcoal is excellent because the price is right, and the charcoal doesn’t contain fillers.

The Process for Making Old School BBQ Chicken on the Weber Kettle Grill

The video and recipe card provide a detailed demonstration of this recipe. For now, here’s a quick rundown of how I put this Old School BBQ Chicken together.

Fire up the pit. I stoked the Weber Kettle Grill with Royal Oak Charcoal Super-Sized Briquettes and Royal Oak Tumbleweeds and fired it up to 325℉, creating a two-zone fire. Note that when you first put the chicken on the pit, the temperature will be higher - this is okay and will not harm the meat.
Cut the chicken. I used a whole chicken for this recipe and separated the wings, thighs, legs, and breasts. The great thing about this recipe is that you can use whatever part of the chicken you like best.
Add seasoning. I drizzled olive oil over the chicken, then seasoned it on all sides with Heath Riles BBQ Chicken Rub and Heath Riles BBQ Cajun Creole Garlic Butter Rub.
Start cooking. I set the chicken directly on the cool zone of the Weber Kettle Grill and let it go for 40 minutes.
Make the basting sauce. Every good chicken recipe needs a basting sauce. To make this version, I combined the minced garlic, butter, Heath Riles BBQ Tangy Vinegar BBQ Sauce, Killer Hogs Hot Sauce, Bear & Burton’s W Sauce - Fireshire, and Heath Riles BBQ Cajun Creole Garlic Butter Rub in a small aluminum pan. I set the basting sauce on the pit to heat while the chicken came to temp.
Baste the chicken. When the chicken hit 138℉, I set it on the hot zone of the fire and basted it with the basting sauce, turning the chicken to char on each side. I repeated the process until the chicken was charred to my liking, which took about 10 minutes. I moved the Old School BBQ Chicken over to the cool zone of the fire and let it cook for another hour. My chicken had a total cook time of about 2 hours and 15 minutes. When the chicken was 170℉-180℉, it was time to take it off the pit and let it rest before digging in.

The Results

The Old School BBQ Chicken had a unique flavor with Louisiana flair. The chicken was juicy yet had the perfect amount of char. This is Old School BBQ at its best!