BBQ Beer Can Chicken

The following is a guest post by an esteemed colleague of mine, Ryan Boudreaux, also known as Cajun Chef Ryan. He spent he majority of his professional careeer in the culinary field in some of New Orleans’ top restuarants, among others. He is currently devoted to sharing his wealth of unbelievable recipes on his blog Cajun Chef Ryan. I welcome Ryan to my blog and hope you enjoy his talent!

This odd recipe makes some of the moistest, succulent, flavorful barbecued chicken I’ve ever tasted. The secret: an open can of beer is inserted into the cavity of the bird, which is cooked upright on the grill. Besides being incredibly tender, the bird makes a great conversation piece. The proper beverage? Beer, of
course.

By the way, most whole chickens sell for under $4.00, and with one can of beer at maybe $1.25, and then a few spices for pennies, this dish would only cost maybe $1.50 per person.

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

1 large whole chicken (4 to 5 pounds)
3 tablespoons Finger Lickin Rub
1 can (12 ounces) beer

Preparation

1. Remove and discard the fat just inside the body cavities of the chicken. Remove the package of giblets, and set aside for another use. Rinse the chicken, inside and out, under cold running water, then drain and blot dry, inside and out, with paper towels. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the rub inside the body and neck cavities, the rub another 1 tablespoon all over the skin of the bird. If you wish, rub another 1/2 tablespoon of the mixture between the flesh and the skin. Cover and refrigerate the chicken while you preheat the grill.

2. Set the drip pan in the center of the grill, between the mounds of coals. Place the food on the grate over the drip pan, and cover the grill. You’ll need to add about 10 to 12 fresh briquettes to each side after an hour of cooking.

If you want to add a smoke flavor, add 1 to 2 cups of presoaked wood chips, or 2 to 4 chunks, to the coals just before you start to cook, and again whenever you replenish the coals. Set up the grill for indirect grilling, placing a drip pan in the center. If using a charcoal grill, preheat it to medium.

If using a gas grill, place all the wood chips in the smoker box and preheat the grill to high; then, when smoke appears, lower the heat to medium.

3. Pop the tab on the beer can and take a good sip or until it is within an inch of the top. Using a “church key” –style can opener, make 6 or 7 holes in the top of the can. Then spoon the remaining dry rub through the holes into the beer. Holding the chicken upright, with the opening of the body cavity down, insert the
beer can into the cavity.

4. When ready to cook, if using charcoal, toss half the wood chips on the coals. Oil the grill grate. Stand the chicken up in the center of the hot grate, over the drip pan. Spread out the legs to form a sort of tripod, to support the bird.

5. Cover the grill and cook the chicken until fall-off-the-bone tender, 2 hours. If using charcoal, add 10 to 12 fresh coals per side and the remaining wood chips after 1 hour.

6. Using tongs lift the bird to a cutting board or platter, holding the metal spatula underneath the beer can for support. (Have the board or platter right next to the bird to make the move shorter. Be careful not to spill hot beer on yourself.) Let stand for 5 minutes before carving the meat off the upright carcass. (Toss
the beer can out along with the carcass.)

* Indirect grilling on a Charcoal Grill:

To set up you grill for indirect grilling, light the coals.
When they are blazing red, use tongs to transfer them to opposite sides of the grill, arranging them in two piles. Some grills have special half-moon-shaped baskets to hold the coals at the sides; others have wire fences that hook onto the bottom gate. Let the coals burn until they are covered with a thin layer of gray
ash.

Set the drip pan in the center of the grill, between the mounds of coals. Place the food on the grate over the drip pan, and cover the grill. You’ll need to add about 10 to 12 fresh briquettes to each side after an hour of cooking.

If you want to add a smoke flavor, add 1 to 2 cups of presoaked wood chips, or 2 to 4 chunks, to the coals just before you start to cook, and again whenever you replenish the coals.

Any thoughts or comments about the recipe above? Please share them with my readers.

Tagged as: frugal cajun recipes, frugal recipes