I have made Beer can chicken before, but the other day I had the idea to make it with a micro beer. Many local micro beers are now available in cans so this opens up a whole new world of opportunity for beer can chicken. I thought about the different flavors I could use such as IPA, Hefeweizen and Pale ale. They all sounded good, but a good Amber beer is what I settled on. I cooked the chicken last night and turned out AMAZING! It was possibly the best chicken I ever had. The beer added a unique flavor, it was super moist, and tasted great. I highly recommend you try this recipe.
Here is my recipe:
I went to the store and picked up two young organic whole chickens, bacon, Uncle Ben's Long Grain & Wild Rice, a couple fuji apples and a six pack of Backwoods Brewing Company Copperline Amber Ale. This is one of my favorite Amber Beers from one of my favorite breweries. Backwoods is located in the Columbia River Gorge in Carson Washington. They have several great beers and their brewery is a must stop if you are touring the Columbia River Gorge.
1 Clean and prep the two little chickens.
2 cut up apples into small chunks and put a few of them in the top of the cavity.
3. rub both birds down with olive oil and put the seasonings on them.
On one bird I used a rub that I picked up from Gartner’s Meat Market in Portland Oregon. This is an awesome meat market and I love their private label rubs as well. The rub I used is called Gartner's Special Blend. Be sure to put Gartner’s on your list of places to shop for outstanding cuts of meats and rubs.
On the other bird I used some Tony Chachere Original Creole Seasoning that I picked up in Louisiana during Marsh Madness. This is an all-around great Cajon seasoning that works well on everything.
4 put several strips of bacon on each bird secured by toothpicks.
Once the birds are ready, start your pellet grill (I use a Green Mountain Grill) and set it to 300 degrees. I am sure you can use a regular gas grill as well, but I have never used one for beer can chicken. While the grill is warming up, open both beers and pour about 1/2 of each into a glass. Drink the glass of beer.
5 Once the Grill reaches 300 degrees, place the chickens on top of the half-full beer cans and set them upright on the grill. Close the lid and cook for two and a half to three hours.
6 (Optional Step) Light cigar and open one of the remaining beers from the six pack. repeat step six as necessary.
7: At two hours start cooking a box of Uncle Ben’s Long Grain & Wild Rice Original Recipe, and prepare a salad of your choice.
Check the chicken at two and a half hours, typically if the bacon is done, the bird is done. You can also pull on a leg or wing, if it detaches easily then the bird should be done.
8: Once the chicken is done, remove the birds from the grill and remove the beer can from the bird. Be very careful when removing the can from the chicken, it is extremely hot and the beer inside is extremely hot as well. Use oven mitts or towels when removing the cans. Use two people for this if someone else is available or let cool while still on the can before removing.
9: Remove apples and bacon from the bird.
10: Mix apples and bacon in with the cooked rice.
11: Slice the chicken breast and serve with rice, and salad of your choice.
I hope you enjoy.
Thanks for reading,
Bill