When I went to Home Depot to search for some grill gadgets to buy with our gift card, I found a gadget specifically for beer can chicken! I thought I had to try it! This recipe is fool-proof and the chicken comes out so moist and tender. I even thought we overcooked the chicken at first because when we went to check the temp it shot up to 190! But it turned out delicious 🙂
Beer-Can Chicken
For the brine (optional and will had some sodium to the chicken, so not the best if you are watching your sodium): in a large pot stir 1/2-3/4 cup salt and 1/2-3/4 cup sugar in about a gallon of ice water and let the chicken sit in it for 2 hours. Don’t go longer than 4 because it will get salty. This really increases the water holding capacity of the meat, which yields it juicy and tender.
For the rub: Chris put this together and didn’t really measure, but it contained cumin, garlic powder, chili powder, brown sugar, lemon zest, basil, AP seasoning, salt, pepper
Rub this all over the chicken, and under the skin to really enhance the flavor. It makes a huge difference.
For the veggies: Chop up a bunch of various veggies, throw them in the bottom of the pan and a cast iron skillet; sprinkle with AP seasoning, salt, and olive oil. Make sure to stir them as they cook! I think my favorite was the little cherry tomatoes because they get so sweet as they cook. Their juice also lends a sweetness to the rest of the veggies.
Simply place the chicken in indirect heat on the grill and cook for about 1- 1/2 hours, basting with BBQ sauce every 20-30 minutes. This sauce from TJ’s is great in a pinch!
Cooking time will vary, depending on the size of your bird, but a thermometer should register 180 in the thickest part of the thigh. Our grill is pretty small, so we just put the heat on low and it was done in an hour.
Also grilled up some portabella mushrooms with some of the BBQ sauce from TJ’s. They are so meaty!
Overall a great meal with lots of leftovers!
