Beer can Chicken

Beer can chicken is a lot of fun. Perhaps something that you might do for a dinner party with friends, or while camping. Or perhaps just because you want a reason to open a can of beer – LOL I don’t really drink much in the way of beer, but in the really warm weather, it’s a great thirst quencher. There are so many to choose from these days and with hubby being a beer maker and competition winner a few years back, well, I have to taste test them all.  😉

A steel beer can is preferred, as its a little heavier and thus better suited to support the chicken, but with a little care, and perhaps some engineering help from the men folk, you’ll sort something out.

Cooking is low and slow, with actual cooking time depending on both the temperature (which can be a little hard to control in a Webber or other BBQ oven) and the size of the chicken. As a guide, we tried a few different chicken sizes, 1.2KG to 1.8KG, with cook times varying between 2 and 3 hours.

The beer can (and chicken legs) support the chicken in an upright position. The beer/butter mix, and basting provide lots of moisture, so the cooking time is not too critical. Don’t think this chicken isn’t cooked because it is pink; it is beautifully cooked and moist.

Served up with a few simple vegetables, it makes for a tasty (and fun) dinner.

Beer Can Chicken

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Beer can Chicken is lots of fun. The chicken tends to be moist, and the process is reasonably forgiving on cooking times (which might be good if there is lots of beer involved).

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 3 hours hrs

Total Time 3 hours hrs 20 minutes mins

Difficulty Easy

Course Dinner

Cuisine Australian

Servings 4

Method Conventional

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Equipment

• 1 An oven (kitchen, smoker, Webber or BBQ)

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 180 g butter
• 3 cloves garlic
• 10 g salt
• 15 g paprika sweet or smoked
• 1 tsp pepper to taste
• 1 can beer 375 ml (steel can preferred)
• 1.5 kg whole chicken

Instructions

 

• Preheat a Webber, BBQ oven (or oven a kitchen oven) for low heat of around 150 c.
• In a small pan, gently melt 180 g butter.
• Add the paprika, pepper, salt and garlic (which should be crushed and finely chopped).
• Discard (or drink) a mouthful of the beer, leaving the remainder in the can. Add some of the melted seasoned butter to the can so that its about half and inch from being full.
• Place the can on a disposable baking tray.
• Set the chicken on the can, inserting the can into the cavity of the chicken.
• Baste the chicken with some of the remainder of the melted, seasoned butter.
• Place the baking tray with the beer/chicken in the oven, and cook for 2-3 hours, or until internal temperature of chicken reaches 80 degrees °C. I suggest a temperature probe inserted into the chicken (in a thick part of flesh, making sure you don’t hit the can).
• Baste again once or twice during the cook.

Notes

You can also use smoking chips, as a great way to get a deep smoky flavour and deep mahogany colour.

Want to know more?

Here is a blog post for perfect roast vegetables to go with your Beer Can Chicken.