Made a beer can chicken on a gas grill today. Never again... those need charcoal all the way!
Made a beer can chicken on a gas grill today. Never again... those need charcoal all the way!
I am going to try my first one on the 4th of July. Will let you know the outcome. Wish me luck.
SVA: you BBQ a whole chicken with half a can of beer stuck up its opening. You can buy a stand to hold the beer can or just balance the bird with the beer can in it. I pulled a receipe off the internet with a good dry rub for the bird before grilling.
I'm going to put the charcoal around the outside of the grill bottom and the bird in the middle to try for the indirect heat.
Well, our first beer chicken was a smashing success. We got off to a slow start as we discovered the weber would not work as the chicken was too tall. So we took all the shelves out of the oven and put the chicken in there. In addition to the half can of beer (Busch Lite) we stuck two lime halves up the cavity as well. 350 degrees for one hour and forty minutes.
Wonderful flavor and so moist I could not believe it. There was still beer in the can which concerned me at the time but not after I started eating.
Now I have to decide if I want to get a gas grill or just continue using the oven for the beer chicken.
It was so good I even got a "Well Done" from my 92 year old mother and that made my week!!
SVA: nice avatar!!
My wife makes beer can chicken on our outdoor gas grill often, and its absolutely delicious! As someone else said, a lot of it is likely in the spices/flavoring you use.
We have a stainless steel 2-chicken holder (Cabela's, if I remember right.) She puts orange/lemon/lime/apple slices into the cavity, carefully slits the skin and pushes butter in, seasoned with Montreal Chicken Spice, garlic & salt & pepper. Then she puts more of the same spice mix into the half can of beer so that as the beer boils and steams up into the chicken its carrying more spices. The BIG hint is to cook it very slow. She wraps hers in aluminum foil for the first 60-90 minutes - on the gas grill at medium/low heat. Then remove the foil and turn up the heat to medium, but not TOO high and leave it there for another hour or so, checking often to make sure its not on too high and cooking too fast which will dry it out. It turns out tender & moist with wonderful flavor and she gets LOTS of compliments and requests for her recipe. She says the spice mix likely varies each time she makes it - put in the mix you like, depending on your taste for garlic, etc.