Cooking an entire chicken is a great way to keep it moist and to have a crispy skin.  A few simple tips will make this an easy accomplishment.

Take a whole chicken and remove the packets within that generally have a neck, liver and some giblets. Then remove the guts and the excess fat from the opening. Wash it out and then dry the chicken fully with paper towels.

The secret to a crisp skin is to separate it from the meat. Take your hands, reach underneath the skin, and carefully get the skin to come away from the meat. You can also just pull on the skin from the outside to get it to divide.

You can leave the skin as is or you can stuff things like fresh herbs and garlic or butter under the skin. Thyme, rosemary, parsley, and sage are good choices. A lemon inside the cavity will give it a nice aroma.

Some people like to put a rub on their chicken. Easy rubs would include onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper, cayenne pepper, cumin, coriander, etc. Lightly brush some oil on your chicken first and then sprinkle the rub all over the chicken.

Place the chicken on a roasting rack in the oven or on an outdoor grill set up for indirect cooking. Indirect cooking on a charcoal grill would put the charcoal on opposite ends of the grill with the chicken in the centre away from the coals and a drip pan underneath. On a gas grill, turn the burners on both ends but not the one that will be underneath the chicken in the centre.

I mostly like a crispy skin so I cook my chickens on a high heat from 450 deg and higher.

I cook the chicken for a half hour with the breast side up for 30 minutes and then turn it over on the other side to finish. By finishing the chicken with the breast side down, it lets the juices drain down to the breast.

After 45 minutes, place a thermometer in the breast of the chicken and check to see if it is done.

Take the chicken out when the breast reads 150 degrees in the thermometer. I then let it rest for 10 minutes more or less. When this happens, the temperature will go up to 160 in the breast and it will be completed perfectly.

If you over cook your chicken it will become too dry which is all too frequent with many cooks. Remember you can always repair an undercooked item but if you cannot if it is overdone.

Use these simple tips for cooking an entire chicken and you will love the tender and moist meat and crispy skin.