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1
Rinse the chicken and pat dry.
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2
Toss the ginger with 2 tablespoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper.
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3
Sprinkle half of the mixture on the chicken; reserve the rest.
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4
Refrigerate the chicken, uncovered, at least 2 hours.
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5
Meanwhile, make the sauce: Pour the ginger beer into a wide skillet; cover and bring to a boil.
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6
Uncover and cook over high heat until reduced by half, about 30 minutes.
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7
Remove from the heat, add the tea bags and steep 10 minutes; discard the tea bags.
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8
Add the onion, tomatoes, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar and thyme.
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9
Return to high heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until thick, about 50 minutes, using a potato masher to crush the tomatoes during the last 5 minutes.
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10
Remove the thyme.
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11
Set aside half of the sauce for serving.
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12
Bring the chicken to room temperature about 30 minutes before grilling.
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13
Preheat a grill to medium with indirect heat: On a charcoal grill, bank the coals to one side; on a gas grill, turn off half of the burners.
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14
Brush the chicken with some of the butter and sprinkle with some of the remaining ground ginger mixture.
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15
Place skin-side up on the cooler side of the grill; cover and cook until it starts browning, about 18 minutes, basting with more butter and sprinkling with more ground ginger mixture halfway through.
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16
Brush the chicken with a thick layer of sauce.
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17
Cover and cook until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 160 degrees F, about 20 minutes, basting with more sauce halfway through.
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18
Brush the chicken with more butter, then turn skin-side down and place on the hotter side of the grill (over direct heat).
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19
Cook, uncovered, until marked, about 2 minutes.
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20
Rotate the chicken to make crisscross grill marks and cook 2 more minutes.
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21
Transfer to a board and let rest about 10 minutes.
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22
Season with salt and serve with the reserved sauce.
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23
Photograph by Con Poulos
