Why You Should Try This Weber Kettle Grilled Pesto Chicken
- The fabulous combination of flavors – It might not seem that two simple and easy-to-find ingredients should go so well together. But just wait until you try it! The chicken and pesto are simply a match made in heaven; Italian gourmet heaven, that is!
- Very easy to prepare – Combine the pesto and the chicken, grill the chicken on your Weber Kettle, let it rest, and devour. It’s that easy and simple. But make a lot, because you’ll want more!
- Extremely economical – It seems unlikely to get two such incredible and harmonious ingredients combined together and yet cost so very little. I purchased 4.5 pounds of chicken leg quarters for $1.28 a pound, or $5.76 total. There were 4 chicken leg quarters in the package. One portion is one chicken leg quarter, so the price per person is $1.44. Add roughly $1.50 per chicken leg quarter for the pesto, for a grand total of $2.94 per person. I don’t think it can get any better than that!
Ingredients For Weber Kettle Grilled Pesto Chicken
- 1 chicken leg quarter
- ¼ cup pesto, recipe below
Ingredients And Directions For Making Pesto Genovese
- 3 cups (3 ounces) whole basil leaves
- ½ cup olive oil
- ½ cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, or parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup pine nuts
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- Pinch of salt to taste
Place the basil, Parmigiano-Reggiano, pine nuts, and garlic in a food processor. With the food processor running, slowly add the olive oil and process until smooth. Season with salt.
Directions For Grilling Weber Kettle Pesto Chicken
1. Set up your Weber Kettle for indirect smoking – Fill your charcoal chimney fire starter with charcoal briquettes, and when ready, empty the chimney in the center of the charcoal grate. With tongs, move the charcoal to both sides of the Weber Kettle, creating two equal piles. Add three more charcoal briquets to each pile.
2. Bring the chicken leg quarter to room temperature – Pat the chicken wings dry with a paper towel. With your fingers, carefully separate the skin from the chicken without tearing the skin. Place as much pesto under the skin as will fit. With a tablespoon, completely cover the chicken leg quarter with pesto.
3. Place the chicken leg quarter on the Weber Kettle grill grate – Place the chicken leg quarter in the center of the Weber Kettle grill grate and close the lid. Grill over the indirect heat for 40 minutes depending on the size of your chicken leg quarter, or until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 165 degrees. Be sure to add more charcoal briquets to both piles if necessary, as the charcoal coals burn down.
4. Remove the chicken leg quarters – Place the chicken leg quarters on a plate and let rest for 5 minutes. Cut the chicken leg quarter between the drumstick and the thigh and serve.
Variations And Substitutions For Weber Kettle Grilled Pesto Chicken
Try using other cuts of chicken or other poultry – The pesto under the skin is perfect for any other cut of chicken as well. A chicken breast, thigh, or even a whole chicken will be just as delicious as the chicken leg quarter when prepared with this recipe. A whole Cornish game hen will also be delicious when grilled with the pesto.
Buy the pesto from your grocery store – There are a few jarred pestos in your chain grocery store that are actually really delicious. On a busy weeknight, simply buy a jar of pesto from the pasta section of your grocery store, open up the jar, and follow the recipe. That is why this recipe is called “The Easiest”!
Add soaked wood chips – If you want to add a bit of smokey flavor to your pesto chicken, add some small wood chunks or wood chips soaked in water to the top of your charcoal pile. The smoke from the soaked wood will add just a hint of smokey goodness to your pesto chicken.
Tips And Tricks For Weber Kettle Grilled Pesto Chicken
Use a Weber Kettle hinged grilling grate – The hinged portion of the grill grate on both sides lifts up so you can add more charcoal or wood chips as you need to. This is an incredible game changer because you don’t need to lift the entire grill grate off the Weber Kettle every time you need to add more fuel.
Use a spoon under the skin – If you can’t reachall the way to the back of the chicken leg quarter to separate the skin and add the pesto, use the back of a teaspoon to gently lift the skin off the meat. Then, use the spoon to add the pesto to the hard-to-reach pockets.
Add an aluminum pan to your Weber kettle – Use a disposal aluminum pan filled with one inch of water and placed on the charcoal grate, as a drip pan. The water will ensure that the pesto chicken stays moist, and the drip pan catches any fat or grease that drops off of the pesto chicken while it’s grilling.
Grilled Pesto Chicken Leg Quarters
Equipment
- 1 Weber Kettle Grill
- 1 Charcoal Chimney Fire Starter
- 1 BBQ Tongs
Ingredients
- 1 leg quarter chicken
- ¼ cup pesto, recipe below
Ingredients For Pesto Genovese
- 3 cups 3 ounces whole basil leaves
- ½ cup olive oil
- ½ cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, or parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup pine nuts
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- Pinch of salt to taste
Directions For Making Pesto Genovese
- Place the basil Parmigiano-Reggiano, pine nuts, and garlic in a food processor. With the food processor running, slowly add the olive oil and process until smooth. Season with salt.
Instructions
- Set up your Weber Kettle for indirect smoking – Fill your charcoal chimney fire starter with charcoal briquettes, and when ready, empty the chimney in the center of the charcoal grate. With tongs, move the charcoal to both sides of the Weber Kettle, creating two equal piles. Add three more charcoal briquets to each pile.
- Bring the chicken leg quarter to room temperature – Pat the chicken wings dry with a paper towel. With your fingers, carefully separate the skin from the chicken without tearing the skin. Place as much pesto under the skin as will fit. With a tablespoon, completely cover the chicken leg quarter with pesto.
- Place the chicken leg quarter on the Weber Kettle grill grate – Place the chicken leg quarter in the center of the Weber Kettle grill grate and close the lid. Grill over the indirect heat for 40 minutes depending on the size of your chicken leg quarter, or until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 165 degrees. Be sure to add more charcoal briquets to both piles if necessary, as the charcoal coals burn down.
- Remove the chicken leg quarters – Place the chicken leg quarters on a plate and let rest for 5 minutes. Cut the chicken leg quarter between the drumstick and the thigh and serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
