| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 2 hr 35 min |
| Prep: | 1 hr |
| Inactive: | 5 min |
| Cook: | 1 hr 30 min |
| Yield: | 2 to 4 servings |
Ingredients
- One 12-ounce can beer
- One 3 1/2 to 4 pound chicken
- 2 tablespoons Basic Barbecue Rub, recipe follows
- 2 cups Cola Barbecue Sauce, for serving, recipe follows
- 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup sweet paprika
- 3 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons kosher or sea salt
- 1 tablespoon hickory salt
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 2 teaspoons celery seeds
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 cup cola (recommended: Coca-Cola)
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
- 3 tablespoon steak sauce (recommended: A-1 Steak Sauce)
- 1 teaspoon onion flakes
- 1 teaspoon garlic flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Pop the tab off the beer can. Using a church key style can opener, make a few more holes in the top of the can. Pour out half the beer into the soaking water of the wood chips. Set the can of beer aside.
- Set up the grill for indirect grilling and preheat to medium. If using a charcoal grill, place a large drip pan in the center. If using a gas grill, place all the wood chips in the smoker box or in a smoker pouch and preheat the grill to high until you see smoke, then reduce the heat to medium.
- Remove the packet of giblets from the body cavity of the chicken and set aside for another use. Remove and discard the fat just inside the body and neck cavities. Rinse the chicken, inside and out, under cold running water, drain, and blot dry inside and out with paper towels. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons of the rub inside the body and neck cavities of the chicken. Rub the bird all over on the outside with 2 teaspoons of the rub. If you have the patience, you can put some of the rub under the skin being careful not to tear it.
- Spoon the remaining 2 teaspoons of rub through the holes into the beer in the can. Don’t worry if it foams up, this is normal. Insert the beer can into the body cavity of the chicken and spread out the legs to form a sort of tripod. Tuck the wing tips behind the chicken’s back.
- When ready to cook, if using a charcoal grill, toss all the wood chips on the coals. Stand the chicken up in the center of the hot grate, over the drip pan and away from the heat. Cover the grill and cook the chicken until the skin is a dark golden brown and very crisp and the meat is cooked to an internal temperature of 180 degrees, about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours. If using a charcoal grill, you’ll need to add 12 fresh coals per side after 1 hour.
- Using tongs, carefully transfer the chicken in its upright position on the beer can to a platter and present it to your guests. Let rest 5 minutes, and then carefully remove the chicken from the beer can. Take care not to spill the hot beer or otherwise burn yourself. Quarter or carve the chicken and serve with the Cola Barbecue Sauce.
- Combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir to blend together. Store the rub in an airtight jar away from heat or light. It will keep for at least 6 months.
- Combine all the ingredients in a heavy non-reactive saucepan and gradually bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat slightly to obtain a gentle simmer. Simmer the sauce until reduced by 1/4, about 6 to 8 minutes. Use right away or transfer to a large jar, cool to room temperature, cover, and refrigerate. The sauce will keep for several months.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 4 servings |
| Calories | 860 |
| Total Fat | 45 g |
| Saturated Fat | 13 g |
| Carbohydrates | 53 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 5 g |
| Sugar | 34 g |
| Protein | 57 g |
| Cholesterol | 217 mg |
| Sodium | 1563 mg |
Reviews
I’ve made many beer can chickens in my life – this one is now my favorite. Super juicy. Super flavorful. Totally perfect. I highly recommend.
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 taller 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.
Scrumptious! Have used this many times for company. Recipe perfect.
GREAT flavor! LOVED IT! Definitely add rub under the skin. I made half the rub and used all of it on the chicken. Didn’t try sauce…chicken didn’t need any!!!!!!!
As much as this did turn out very good – I’ve also made barbecued chickens with much less fuss that were just as good. The rub is nice and I have lots left over that I’ll use on just about any type of meat. The barbecue sauce was ok. Not sure what value added there is to cooking this with the Beer can… Sure the chicken was moist but I don’t see how the beer affected the flavour.
So basically this was very good, but seems like a lot of work when I can have something just as good for less effort.
I was looking for a simple barbecue sauce recipe and found this version to be quite easy. I did change a few things the first time around by using fresh garlic (2 cloves – chopped) and onions (1/5 of an onion – chopped) which I sauteed and pureed into the sauce. The end result was good but I wasn’t quite happy with it so I decided to add the following and it came out great: 1 teaspoon chili powder, 2 teaspoons dijon mustard, 0.5 teaspoon paprika, few dashes of cumin, few dashes of maggi seasoning sauce. The chili sauce definitely helped bring out the smokiness. Be careful with the cumin, it tends to over power things if you add too much. Try it. I’m sure you’ll like it. JP from NJ
This chicken had incredible flavor! My husband loved it and raved about it for weeks. I brined the chicken overnight and it was very moist and tender. The rub is excellent and I, too, have enough left over to use it on another chicken. Because I used such a large chicken that took a long time to cook, I brushed it with olive oil mid-way to ensure it did not dry out. I’ll be heading to the grocery store soon to get another chicken to cook this way!
This is the best beer can chicken recipe I’ve made! The rub is perfectly balanced, and the cola bbq sauce is a totally complimentary addition. Not too sweet, not too spicy/savory…PERFECT!! Not to mention that the chicken turns out totally juicy! Great recipe…great chicken!
I pretty much do my own version using a wire chicken stand and my own rub, however I was most impressed with the Barbecue Sauce. Excellent.
Served this for Father’s Day and was a huge hit. We inhaled it! The sauce is fantastic on the chicken. Can’t wait to make again.