Beer Can Chicken

Cooking your chicken in this way is far different from the rotisserie way of cooking roast chicken.

Our recipe combines a mixture of spices rubbed into the exterior of the bird with a simple beer can chicken barbecue process for cooking.

Preparation Time for the beer can chicken: 15 min.

The cooking time is 1½ hrs.

You Will Require

• One 4 lb. roasting chicken
• A barbeque grill with some upper space – domed barbecues are the ideal.
• A sufficient amount of charcoal, preferably the natural variety.
• Starter fuel (BUT NOT GASOLINE OR ANY OTHER HIGHLY COMBUSTIBLE FUEL) is optional, but it will help in getting the barbecue lit if you are restricted for time.

For The Poultry

• 1 whole bird (4-5 pounds)
• 1 12 ounce can of beer – whichever is your most liked beer is best! (not chilled)
• 2 garlic cloves, fresh and minced
• 2 sprigs of rosemary – dried rosemary can be used if you don’t have fresh (use 1 teaspoon of dried variety)
• 2 teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil – although a second pressed grade is fine if you don’t have extra virgin
• 1 Tablespoon of fresh thyme or 1 tsp of dried thyme
• ½ teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes
• The juice of one lemon

For the Rub Mixture

• Large pinch of salt (1tsp)
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp thyme (dried)
• 1 tsp fresh, chopped rosemary, (you can use dry if no fresh available)
• ½ tsp black pepper – ground
• ½ teaspoon of lemon zest – click here for zester

Commence

Have your BBQ hot, if necessary use starter fuel if needed. The temperature should be about 225° F. Use a grill thermometer to check the temperature of your grill.

Mix together all of the listed ingredients for the rub mixture. Mix them in a smallish bowl and place the combination to one side.

WARNING: If you are one of those people who don’t like getting their hands too dirty, you may mull over using protective gloves!

If your chicken is fresh from the farm it will almost certainly have a polythene bag inside the cavity which normally includes the neck and
giblets. Obviously you need to remove this.

Smother the poultry with the rub mixture, not forgetting to rub a little in the cavity of the bird.

Open the beer…or whatever you decide to use and using a can opener, preferably an electric can opener as it will make it easier, completely do away with the top of the can so as to ensure the beer emits a full flavorsome vapor during the cooking process.

Place the thyme, minced garlic, rosemary, pepper flakes and lemon juice, into the can of beer, and sit the chicken atop the beer can roaster!

Positioning the Beer Can Chicken in the Cooker

A great tip to prevent your barbecue beer-can chicken from burning to a crisp is to position it to one half of the grill – ensuring the coals are on the opposite half.
This method of cuisine is known as ‘indirect grilling’ – it means the heat from the barbecue coals fill the dome of your kettle barbie to cook your chicken.

With the cooker at 225° F, you will need to cook the meat for about 1½ to 2 hrs. The temperature on the inside of the chicken should ideally be 180° F. I use a digital probe thermometer which I place into the cavity or one of the thighs.

Removing the Beer Can Chicken from the Cooker

As soon as the temperature reaches 180 degree inside the bird’s thighs, remove beer-can chicken rack with drip pan – all of it, beer can as well. Then, allow the chicken sit and rest for 10 minutes to allow the juices to seep through the poultry.

A WORD of CAUTION: Cutting into the meat prematurely, will probably result in the juices seeping out all over the carving board – leaving the beer can chicken rather dry and a little disappointing.