Beer Can Chicken

1 whole chicken (about 4 pounds)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
3 tablespoons of your favorite dry spice rub
1 can beer

For the rub:
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

To make the rub:
In a small bowl combine the rub ingredients.

Chicken:
Remove the neck and giblets from chicken and discard them. Rinse the chicken inside and out, and pat dry with paper towels. Rub chicken lightly with oil then rub inside and out with salt, pepper and the dry rub mix. Set aside.

Open beer can and empty out half of the beer. Place the beer can on a solid surface. Grabbing a chicken leg in each hand, place the bird cavity over the beer can. Straighten it out so it is solidly in place.

Grilling Directions:

Heat your grill to medium high heat.

Transfer the bird-on-a-can to your grill and place in the center of one of the grates, balancing the bird on its 2 legs and the can like a tripod. Turn off the burner that the chicken is sitting over, so it gets only indirect heat. If using coals, place the bird in an area without coals directly below it.

Cook the chicken over medium-high, indirect heat, with the grill cover on, for approximately 1 1/4 hours or until the internal temperature registers 165ºF in the breast area and 180ºF in the thigh, or until the thigh juice runs clear when stabbed with a sharp knife.

Remove the chicken from the grill very carefully, wearing barbecue gloves and it let rest for 10 minutes before carving. Be careful that you don’t spill the beer – it’s hot!

Note: Always discard the beer as it may contain bacteria from the chicken.

Oven Baking Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Carefully place the bird and beer can on a baking pan or roaster that is deep enough to catch all of the juices. Bake chicken for approximately 1 1/2 hours or until juices run clear as indicated above.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

BBQ chicken recipe ingredients

2 x 4-5lb roasting chickens
Olive Oil
Dark Soy sauce
Black pepper

Marinade the roasting chickens first by basting them with equal parts of olive oil, dark soy sauce and crack over about half a tablespoon of black peppercorns. For best results place the roasting chickens on the upper rack area of your BBQ smoker at around 250f to 300f for around 4 or so hours until the internal temperature of the chickens reach 180f.

Tend to your smoker once or twice during the smoking process and top up with wood chips as appropriate. Don’t forget to add some extra water to the smokers water pan to ensure that your chickens are getting a light moist smoke throughout the whole cooking process.

Once the chicken has cooked properly, remove the whole chickens from your smoker and wrap them in some plastic freezer bags or aluminum foil and leave the birds to rest for around 30 minutes or so.

Now that the chickens have had plenty of time to absorb the flavours and rest, remove them from your wrap, and gently pull off the tender meat and discard the BBQ chicken juices. A Weber Smoky Mountain or Big Green Egg are ideal smokers for 2-4 medium sized roasting chickens but you can use any smoking apparatus that you have to hand and cook as many as you wish according to the amount of people you have to feed using the same recipe.

Cooking “low-and-slow” on your smoker or grill is the best way to go if you are looking for the best tasting BBQ chicken. Lowering cooking times and turning up the temperature will allow you to serve your meats faster to your guests, but the results will not be as good.

Once you have removed the wings and legs, carefully cut along the breastbone of each chicken and cut it into a few pieces to your liking. You should notice how tender the meat is as you will observe all of the remaining moisture in the meat because you have cooked your chicken to perfection. It is now time to serve the meat to your guests and enjoy that delicious BBQ chicken taste.

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