Smoky, juicy, and with a hint of beer flavor, this Beer Can Chicken is a super easy grilling recipe that is super flavorful, tender, and a great cookout meal.
I’m a chicken fan, Beer Can Chicken has been one recipe that we have been making for such a long time because it is super easy, and everyone just enjoys it.
Only minimal ingredients are used and that is one part that I love about this, along with different choices of beer to really make your chicken taste how you like.
Since you are making a whole chicken, there are so many pieces to choose from, so everyone can be satisfied and get their share.
Serve this with some of your other favorite cookout sides and you have yourself a meal that you are going to want to make over and over again.
Some of my other favorite chicken recipes we have on our site include: Grandma’s Fried Chicken, Bourbon Chicken and Ritz Cracker Chicken.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
- Minimal ingredients are needed.
- You can use your favorite beer, we like a lager.
- Easily double this recipe to serve more people.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED (FULL RECIPE BELOW):
Whole chicken
Vegetable oil
Smoked paprika
Light brown sugar
Pepper
Kosher salt
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Ground cumin
Chili powder
Mustard powder
Beer
HOW TO MAKE BEER CAN CHICKEN:
- Pat the outside of the chicken with paper towels to get it dry. Rub all over with the oil.
- In a small bowl stir together the paprika, brown sugar, pepper, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, chili powder, and mustard powder. Rub it all over the chicken, set aside.
- Preheat the oven over high heat for 10 minutes. Turn off half of the burners and lower the other burners to medium heat.
- Pour out half of the beer from the beer can. Lower the chicken onto the beer can.
- Place the chicken sitting up directly onto the grill grates over the area of the grill where you turned the burner off. This will cook the chicken over indirect heat.
- Close the lid and let it cook for an hour and 15-30 minutes. If it starts to brown too fast, tent it with foil.
- You can pull the chicken when the internal temperature reaches 165°F when temped in the thickest part of the thigh. We like to let it cook until it reaches an internal temperature of 185-190°F, this temp the chicken is falling off the bone good! It took a full 1 hour and 30 minutes to reach 185-190°F.
- Take off the grill and tent with foil, let it rest for 20 minutes until carving to serve.
WHAT SIZE OF CHICKEN IS BEST TO USE?
We like to use around a 5-pound chicken for this recipe. This is large enough to feed the family and is what fits best with the beer can chicken holder as well.
You can easily double the recipe and make two chickens if you want more.
CAN I USE ANOTHER RUB?
You can use any rub you like. Some other ideas include pre-made bbq seasoning, lemon pepper, cajun, old bay, jerk, or even curry.
Another yummy idea would be to use one of those injector mixes to get the flavor all the way down to the bone.
WHAT BEER IS BEST?
For us, we like to use a lager for this recipe and used Pabst Blue Ribbon, some other larger beers that would be good for this recipe include:
- Budweiser
- Coors Light
- Miler Lite
- Michelob Ultra
- Bud Light
HOW TO STORE:
You can store this in the refrigerator in an airtight container where it will keep for up to 3 days.
This can also be frozen, placed in a freezer container, and it will keep for up to 3 months.
To defrost, remove to the refrigerator overnight until thawed. To reheat, it is best if the chicken has already been cut, cover with foil and reheated in the oven with a splash of water or beer to steam the meat, cook until warmed through.
TIPS AND TRICKS:
- This can easily be doubled.
- Use any of your favorite beers, we like a lager – see some suggestions above.
- This can be frozen, see above on how to do that.
- You can find a beer can chicken holder easily at your grocery store.
- Use any of your favorite rubs, some other ideas are listed above.
- We like to let this sit for a bit to let the juices run through the meat.
Wanting that ultimate and easy dinner or cookout meal? Then you really can’t get any better than this Beer Can Chicken!
If you like this recipe you might also like:
If you’ve tried this BEER CAN CHICKEN let me know in the comments how it turned out! You can follow me over on PINTEREST, INSTAGRAM OR FACEBOOK to find some more of our mouthwatering recipes!
Beer Can Chicken
Ingredients
- 5 pound whole chicken
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons light brown sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons black pepper
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon mustard powder
- 12- ounce can lager beer
Instructions
- Pat the outside of the chicken with paper towels to get it dry. Rub all over with the oil.
- In a small bowl stir together the paprika, brown sugar, pepper, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, chili powder, and mustard powder. Rub it all over the chicken, set aside.
- Preheat the oven over high heat for 10 minutes. Turn off half of the burners and lower the other burners to medium heat.
- Pour out half of the beer from the beer can. Lower the chicken onto the beer can.
- Place the chicken sitting up directly onto the grill grates over the area of the grill where you turned the burner off. This will cook the chicken over indirect heat.
- Close the lid and let it cook for an hour and 15-30 minutes. If it starts to brown too fast, tent it with foil.
- You can pull the chicken when the internal temperature reaches 165°F when temped in the thickest part of the thigh. We like to let it cook until it reaches an internal temperature of 185-190°F, this temp the chicken is falling off the bone good! It took a full 1 hour and 30 minutes to reach 185-190°F.
- Take off the grill and tent with foil, let it rest for 20 minutes until carving to serve.
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