This will be some of the juiciest chicken you will ever have. There is a lot of debate out there whether this technique is effective or not. Well make no mistake, vaccinating your kid will save their life, and beer can chicken takes your bird to a whole other level. This came about when a couple fraternity brothers were drinking around the grill and decided to shove a can up a chicken’s ass, and voila!, Beer Can Chicken. (I just completely made that up but I’m pretty sure that’s how it went down.)

Prep Time:  4 – 12 hours brine time.  15 minutes prep.

Cook Time (approx.):  1 hour

Smoker Temp:  350° to 400°

Ingredients:

• 1 whole chicken
• ¼ cup or more of BBQ rub
• 1 Can of beer (stout, lager)

Steps:

1. Brine at least 4 hours. Overnight is better.
2. Remove from brine and rinse.
3. Coat with olive oil.
4. Cover generously with BBQ rub. Inside and out.
5. Crack open a can of beer, drink 1/3 of said beer, and open up top of can (optional).
6. Drop about 4-6 cloves of garlic in can.
7. Shove the can up the chicken’s ass.
8. Set grill for two-zone cooking.
9. Set chicken in grill and cover. Rotate chicken a quarter turn every 15 minutes.
10. Cook to 165°internal temp in chicken breast and 175°in leg.
11. Remove beer can from the chicken’s ass.
12. Let rest 10 minutes and carve it up.

Tips:

• You can add other ingredients to your brine to impart different flavors into your chicken. Try adding herbs like sage, rosemary, garlic, etc. to give it a more complex flavor.
• Leave the top grill grate off if the chicken won’t fit standing up with the lid on.  Just make sure the bottom grate is clean.
• Try different types of beer.  Although stout and lager work well feel free to experiment like you did at summer camp.

Health Nut:

• Use a rub with lower sodium.
• Coat with mustard instead of olive oil.
• Use less salt in your brine and add other herbs to compensate. It might not turn out as juicy but at least you won’t die at 53.
• Rinse your chicken well after brining.  This will remove some of the salt.
• Remove skin when done cooking.
• Go for the white meat then hit the gym tough guy. And for Christ’s sake please don’t tell me about Crossfit.