Beer can chicken never sucks.
Novelty aside, beer can chicken is one of the best, easiest ways to cook a whole chicken on the grill. You don’t need much for it, just a whole chicken (plucked and cleaned, of course), adequate seasoning, a grill, and plenty of cold ones. The beer from the can steams the chicken, and you don’t need to flip anything or bother yourself trying to find some fancy rotisserie equipment.
A good beer can chicken is much more than just placing a chicken on a beer can, placing that all on the grill, and then enjoying a few beers while the grill does its thing. The best beer can chicken really is equal parts seasoning (the right beer and a good dry rub), and technique. Thankfully, we’ve teamed up with the very-talented Kendrick BBQ out of Santa Maria to make sure all the stages of our backyard kitchen brigade are covered.
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For our beer of choice, we went with a case of Cervezas. Kendrick seasons his chicken with his all-purpose rub, which is a killer mix of paprika, garlic, mustard powder, and other spices designed to accent the savory flavors in most dishes. From there it’s all about stuffing an open, full can of Cerveza in the bird and placing it on top of the grill.
Ideally, you want to have your grill burning at 375 degrees, or have all the burners set to medium-high. At that point just sit back and enjoy a few cold ones while you wait for the chicken to be done. You should wait until the bird’s internal temperature reaches 163 degrees to enjoy, which will usually take about an hour and a half.
That’s it! Now you just need to invite over some friends, grab a plate, and get ready to eat some delicious chicken.