The first time I heard of beer can chicken, I thought, “Why in the world would you sacrifice a can of beer in that manner?”
I mean, it’s bad enough you’re wasting a precious beer but shoving the can up the bird’s innards too - jeepers! Well a few years later and a bit wiser when it comes to food, I must confess that if you’re going to sacrifice a beer, this is likely the best thing to use it for (well this, and a Low Country boil).
And if you don’t feel comfortable sticking an aluminum can up the bird, they now have beer can cooking kits you can use. I’ve cooked this with just a can of beer and a barbeque rack, but I now have a cast iron oven pan that has a center that holds the beer and holds up the chicken.
Beer can chicken is easy to make. You marinate the chicken however you wish. Afterwards, I just pour the beer into the center of the pan and place the chicken over it.
If you’re using a different rack you need to make it secure enough to hold up the chicken in an upright position without the beer and the bird tipping over.
Open the beer can and pour a little bit out into a glass, leaving at least half a can of beer or more for the chicken. Carefully place the pre-marinated chicken over the can of beer and set it on the rack.
Here is a recipe I used the other day to make rosemary, garlic beer can chicken.
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 2 whole garlic cloves
- Dried rosemary seasoning
- Garlic powder
- Whole chicken (mine was 5.5 pounds)
- 2 tablespoons of butter
- Olive Oil (I have Olive Oil that is infused with Rosemary)
- 1 can of beer (I used Coors Light)
- Salt and pepper
Place the chicken in a large bowl and drizzle it with Olive Oil. Rub the minced garlic all over the chicken and then sprinkle it with rosemary and the garlic powder. Take one tablespoon of butter and spread it under the skin in the breast area of the bird. Use the other tablespoon of butter for the other breast. Add salt and pepper to your liking.
Before placing the chicken on the rack I poured in the beer, added the garlic cloves and sprinkled some rosemary in the center opening. The beer steam blends with the herbs and spices and that gets infused into the meat.
I roasted the chicken at 375 degrees for 90 minutes (cooking times will vary depending on the size of your bird). Cook until the thickest part of the chicken gets to an internal temperature of 165. Let the bird rest for about 10 minutes before carving. I served my chicken with a side of platanos maduros (sweet plantains).
The beer keeps the chicken moist and imparts flavor. I’ve found that darker beers or stouts are great for imparting woodsy notes. I use dark beers when I cook barbeque beer can chicken. As the chicken gets close to being done, I slather it in my favorite barbeque sauce - Sweet Baby Ray’s - and let the cooking process finish.
If you don’t want to use beer, you can substitute chicken broth. My friend used a blend of chicken stock and orange juice, which was fantastic. But you can’t call that beer can chicken! That would be more like chicken-broth/orange juice chicken.
Some people call beer can chicken, drunken chicken and I can live with that. But for me drunken chicken is when I cook chicken thighs on the stove top, douse it with some bourbon and light it up, creating a thick sauce on my bourbon glazed drunken chicken. More on that later!
The beer you poured into the glass is for you to enjoy. Anyways give beer can chicken a try and let me know how you marinated your bird and how it tasted.