Reverse Barbecue Chicken

Instructions

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1. 1 Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (162 degrees C).
2. 2 Combine salt, brown sugar, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, cayenne, and barbecue sauce in a bowl; whisk to combine. Add chicken halves and toss until thoroughly coated on all sides.
3. 3 Transfer chicken halves into a shallow 13x9-inch roasting pan or baking dish, skin side up. Use a spoon or brush to transfer all the remaining wet rub from the bowl evenly over the top of the chicken.
4. 4 Cover the pan with foil, tenting it slightly so the foil is not touching the top of the chicken. Crimp the edges very tightly all around the pan.
5. 5 Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes. Remove from the oven, and let rest covered for 1 hour.
6. 6 If you want to grill your chicken immediately, use a spatula to scrape all the wet rub off the chicken skin back into the pan, and transfer chicken onto a separate clean plate.
7. 7 Meanwhile, transfer all the pan juices and wet rub into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce reduces slightly and starts to thicken. Turn off heat and reserve until needed.
8. 8 Preheat a charcoal grill to medium-high and lightly oil the grate. Make sure your grill is evenly heated. I like to space out my briquettes to achieve even grilling.
9. 9 Place the chicken skin side down on the preheated grill and cook until skin starts to brown and slightly char, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn over and brush skin side with reserved sauce while cooking for 5 minutes.
10. 10 Turn chicken over again, and while the skin side browns for another few minutes brush additional sauce over the side facing up. Turn chicken back over, and brush over more sauce, and repeat these steps until the chicken is completely heated through and the skin is as brown as you like. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, near the bone, should read 145 degrees F (63 degrees C). Serve immediately with additional sauce if desired.
11. 11 For the overnight method, remove the foil after the chicken has sat out after cooking for 1 hour. Brush as much of the wet rub and pan juices from the bottom of the pan on top of the chicken. Allow to cool until the chicken is safe enough to rewrap and transfer into the refrigerator. Refrigerate overnight to allow the chicken to absorb as much of the flavors of the wet rub as possible.
12. 12 The next day, remove the chicken from the refrigerator and scrape off all the wet rub just like described above. Allow the chicken to come to room temperature for about 30 minutes while you prepare the sauce as described above. Follow the same grilling instructions. Since the chicken will still be cool in the center, the grilling time will be much longer. Let the chicken sit on the grill with the skin side up for the majority of the time using the grill cover to keep the heat in. Occasionally brush sauce on the skin side and flip it over for a couple minutes, until it's as browned as you want, then continue cooking with the skin side up until the chicken is completely heated through and ready to serve, about 30 minutes total.