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Square image of pieces of chicken on white board with whole chicken and beer in background.
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Beer Can Chicken

This Beer Can Chicken is tender, juicy and delicious! Made using our rib rub recipe, with the added addition of beer soaked in makes it a tasty meal for the summer! 
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 15 minutes
Total Time1 hour 25 minutes
Course: Grilling, Main Course
Cuisine: American
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 701kcal
Author: Tornadough Alli

Ingredients

  • 1 5 pound whole chicken
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
  • 2 teaspoons light brown sugar
  • 1 ½ teaspoons black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder
  • ½ teaspoon ground cumin
  • ½ teaspoon chili powder
  • ¼ teaspoon mustard powder
  • 12 ounce can lager beer

Instructions

  • Start by using paper towels to pat the outside of the chicken and get it nice and dry. Rub the whole chicken with the oil.
  • Stir together the paprika, brown sugar, pepper, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, chili powder, and mustard powder in a small bowl.
  • Rub the homemade rub all over the chicken and set it aside.
  • Preheat the grill over high heat for 10 minutes. Then turn off half of the burners and lower the other burners to medium heat.
  • Pour out half of the beer from the can and lower the chicken onto the beer can.
  • Place the chicken sitting up directly on the grill grates over the area of the grill where you turned the burner off. Doing this will cook the chicken over indirect heat.
  • Close the lid and let the chicken cook for an hour and 15-30 minutes. If it starts to brown too fast, tent it with aluminum foil.
  • You can pull the chicken off the grill when the internal temperature reaches 165°F when temped in the thickest part of the thigh. We like to let it cook until it reaches an internal temperature of 185-190°F, at this temp the chicken is falling off the bone and is so good! It took a full 1 hour and 30 minutes to reach 185-190°F.
  • Then remove the chicken off the grill and tent it with foil, let it rest for 20 minutes and then you can carve and serve.

Notes

  1. We use a light lager beer so as not to overpower the other flavors. A lager is the most common type of beer for this grilling recipe.
  2. This recipe is great for meal prepping and making a few extra chickens so you can have cooked chicken to go on any meals all week long. 
  3. You can freeze this, see my tips above. 
  4. For more spice ideas, see above for some great alternatives. 
  5. When you're taking the chicken off the grill, be very careful because the beer can will still have some beer in it and it will be boiling hot!
  6. Make sure that you let the chicken rest so the juice can disperse.

Nutrition

Calories: 701kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 52g | Fat: 48g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 13g | Monounsaturated Fat: 19g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 204mg | Sodium: 782mg | Potassium: 607mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 1324IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 47mg | Iron: 3mg