Classic Beer Can Chicken
4.8
(10)
Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are adapted from Elizabeth Karmel's Web site, girlsatthegrill.com .
This is the basic recipe for beer-can chicken. The origin of this recipe has as many stories as there are grill cooks.
The one I like best goes something like this: A barbecue pit master had been drinking beer—the officially sanctioned barbecue-circuit beverage—all day when he realized that he was going to need to eat something if he was going to last all night and into the next morning tending his slow-cooked barbecue. So, he opened his rig (a smoker-grill that is large enough for several whole hogs) and set his beer down on the cooking grate to get something small to cook from his cooler. He picked up a chicken and put it on top of his half-full can of beer without noticing what he was doing. He looked for his beer, couldn't find it, and popped open another one without a second thought. That is, until he opened the grill an hour later and, lo and behold, perched on the grates of his rig was the first beer-can chicken!
Regardless of the story, it is truly the best chicken you have ever tasted!
When removing chicken from grate, be careful not to spill contents of beer can, as it will be very hot. Use a pair of locking tongs and grab the bottom of the beer can and place on a platter or cutting board to cool.
