Fried Chicken on the Weber Kettle

Posted on January 19, 2017

Burning down the house

Yes, you read that correctly. It is possible to make fried chicken on a Weber Kettle. I did not come up with this idea – I found it some time back on the The Virtual Weber Bulletin Board (TVWBB) forums. I have perfected it over the years though. Please use caution when cooking with oil as it is flammable. Cook on a cement surface away from anything that could possibly burn. Remember, you can always drop the lid back down and smother it out should anything happen. I am going to assume that you have a Weber 22 Kettle and a large cast iron pan.

Ingredients

2qts Vegetable oil
1qt Buttermilk
1 Family pack chicken thighs
4 cups cracker meal or your favorite chicken coating
Lawry’s garlic salt
Black pepper

Directions

Pour the buttermilk into a bowl and spread the cracker meal onto a sheet pan. Season chicken with garlic salt and pepper then dip the chicken into the buttermilk and then dredge in the cracker meal. Repeat until all pieces are evenly coated.

Light a full chimney of Kingsford Blue Bag Charcoal (KBB) and when completely lit pour into a pile in the back of the Weber. Similar to the 2-zone method. Make sure most of the coals are piled in the back. Put the grill in place and set the cast iron pan directly over the coals. Fill ½ way with vegetable oil and allow the oil to heat to 350 degrees. Your digital thermometer will come in handy. If the oil starts climbing past 350-375 just slide the pan forward off the direct heat. Add 4-6 thighs to the oil and close the lid (vents all the way open). This will keep the temps stable and keep your coals from getting too hot. At 7 minutes remove the lid and using tongs flip the chicken over in the pan. Close the lid for another 7 minutes. At the 14 minute mark remove the lid and carefully pull the chicken from the pan. Place them on the offset area on the grill and add more chicken to the oil. Repeat the 7 minutes per side technique until all chicken is fried. I like to let the chicken go another 15 minutes or so after the second round is fried to finish cooking. Once this is done remove from the grill, plate and serve.

Note – You can also make French fries while the chicken is finishing on the offset side of the grill. Once I am finished cooking I leave the lid down overnight and clean the oil and cast iron pan the next day when it is cool. Pour the old oil into a water bottle and dispose of and then wipe the pan down with paper towels and you are good to go.