Q) Why did the chicken cross the road? A) Because it couldn’t remember where it left its beer
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 1 hr 35 min |
| Prep: | 10 min |
| Inactive: | 10 min |
| Cook: | 1 hr 15 min |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 (4-pound) whole chicken
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 3 tablespoons of your favorite dry spice rub
- 1 can beer
Instructions
- Remove neck and giblets from chicken and discard. Rinse chicken inside and out, and pat dry with paper towels. Rub chicken lightly with oil then rub inside and out with salt, pepper and dry rub. Set aside.
- Open beer can and take several gulps (make them big gulps so that the can is half full). Place beer can on a solid surface. Grabbing a chicken leg in each hand, plunk the bird cavity over the beer can. Transfer the bird-on-a-can to your grill and place in the center of the grate, balancing the bird on its 2 legs and the can like a tripod.
- Cook the chicken over medium-high, indirect heat (i.e. no coals or burners on directly under the bird), with the grill cover on, for approximately 1 1/4 hours or until the internal temperature registers 165 degrees F in the breast area and 180 degrees F in the thigh, or until the thigh juice runs clear when stabbed with a sharp knife. Remove from grill and let rest for 10 minutes before carving.
Reviews
Love this beer can chicken!! So delicious!
Simple, straight forward instructions that allow for tweaking as needed or to taste…Turned out great on the first attempt! 🙂
The only way to do chicken! So moist and flavorful!
Easy and delicious, also a crowd pleaser… what’s not to love when it comes to beer and chicken!
Made this for Father’s Day and it was very good. I have two of Chez Bob’s cookbooks. Love his Caesar Salad. Glad to see him out there! Simple instructions and ingredients. Will definitely make again!
So good!
H
Very simple and easy to do.
Beer can chicken recipes, almost across the board, all say to put the chicken over a half can of beer. Well, this is all about the science, not the flavor. I’m not saying his flavorings and rubs are in question. It is the entire concept of putting a “beer can” or any other liquid filled container inside the bird itself. You’re better off buying one of those round tapered vertical wire bird roasting racks and putting the bird directly over it in a small rimmed sheet pan, and without it sitting on the can! Keep the inside of the bird unobstructed. First of all, the can or other container inside the bird prevents the interior of the bird from properly circulating hot air through it during the cooking process, thus requiring longer cooking times, which will do nothing more than dry out the meat. Second, and most important, is that the interior of the bird never gets hot enough to cause the liquid to boil and vaporize, which is touted as somehow needed to supposedly, (and falsely,) provide moisture to the inside of the bird. The bird itself, while in contact with the can, is actually nothing more than a “heat sink” around the can because the bird is not only cold, but is an insulator that won’t actually heat the beer in the can enough to vaporize it. The bird is done at 165-180 degrees, depending on whose recipe your reading, and certainly isn’t not hot enough to boil water or beer. Big fallacy busted! Drink the beer and just sit the bird on the vertical wire rack. If you want to add moisture, put it where it will actually work, just pour the beer directly into the sheet pan that the rack is on. At least there, it will get hot and vaporize to give you the moisture you are looking for. KInd of the same principle as using a water pan in a smoker.
Health Canada says NEVER wash or rinse your chicken !
https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/meat-poultry-fish-seafood-safety/poultry-safety.html#_Preparing