MENU
 
 
 
 

  • Beer Can Chicken

    7 votes
    Beer Can Chicken
    Prep: 20 min Cook: 120 min Servings: 8
    by Elena Jimenez
    22 recipes
    >
    An interesting and fun, yet still delicious way to barbecue a chicken. Have fun with this one!

    Ingredients

    • 1 whole chicken
    • 1 12 ounce beer can, room temperature
    • 2 cloves garlic, minced
    • 2 fresh sprigs of rosemary
    • 2 teaspoons olive oil
    • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
    • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, crushed
    • 1 large lemon, squeezed
    • For the Rub:
    • 1 teaspoon paprika
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped
    • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
    • 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
    • 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

    Directions

    1. Mix all the dry rub ingredients into a small bowl and set aside.
    2. Remove the giblets and the neck from chicken. Generously cover the chicken all over with the rub, including cavity.
    3. Open can of beer and remove half of it (6 ounces). Place minced garlic, rosemary, thyme, lemon juice, and pepper flakes inside it.
    4. Make sure to poke two more holes on the top of beer can.
    5. Carefully place the chicken on top of can, and make sure it can stay up.
    6. Preheat grill to about medium heat. Place the chicken on the beer can on top of the grill.
    7. Grill over indirect medium heat for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours, and until inside temperature of thigh is 180 degrees.
    8. Remove the chicken from the grill when finished cooking, but set it aside for it to cool. Leave the chicken sitting on the beer can.
    9. After about 15 minutes, you are ready to start carving your bird!

    Similar Recipes

    Reviews

    • Karen Harris
      Karen Harris
      I love beer can chicken. In fact I love it so much that I prepared my turkey this way for Thanksgiving, except I did mine in the oven. Your rub sounds delish.
      • Dean Tinney
        Dean Tinney
        This recipe is sometimes done in restaurants, [on a cylindrical wire rack with a cup at the botom instead of the beer can] and is a very popular dish. The great part is that you can easily customize both rub and "cup/can " spices to suit your taste as well as popular variations such as Lemon-Pepper, Garlic-Basil, BBQ, and many others according to your regional preferences.

        Here in North Texas, there was once a restaurant next to Lake Fork named after this dish because of the way the bird moves when roasted in an oven and viewed through the glass door:
        The Dancin' Chicken. Sadly, though the food was excellent, the owner closed the restaurant due to other issues.
        • caroline lorentz
          caroline lorentz
          This is the only way to cook a whole chicken.You will never have a dried out chicken.

          Comments

          • ShaleeDP
            ShaleeDP
            This is interesting.. i may give this a try usin the oven too. Good idea,
            • Kristen Russell
              Kristen Russell
              This recipe can also be done in the oven (we found that out the hard way when we ran out of propane right when we went to put the chicken on the grill). I cooked it at 350 for about 1.5 hours. Tasty!

              Leave a review or comment