The Juiciest Beer Can Chicken in the Oven (or on the Grill) | Julie Blanner (2024)

Beer Chicken Ingredients

• One Whole Chicken – About 4 pounds – make sure that you get enough for leftovers. Pulled chicken leftovers are great for so many next-day recipes like Chicken Tacos, Chicken Nachos, Salad and more!
• Vegetable Oil –Any type of oil will do. Olive oil and canola oil, even melted butter, make great substitutes.
• Salt –Don’t be afraid of the salt in this recipe! Use a touch more than you normally might, because that crispy salted skin doesn’t happen on its own.
• Pepper –Thick flakes of black pepper create robust flavor and texture. Don’t be afraid to use a slightly heavier hand here.
• Poultry Seasoning –I love the flexibility of using your own poultry rub. You can use any combination of spices that suit you, but I have suggestions below to make your own beer can chicken rub.
• One Can of Beer – A big can is best. It gives your chicken more stability. I like to use whatever I have on hand – it doesn’t change the flavor. The beer simply steams the chicken making it incredibly juicy. What you’re looking for here is the moisture content, not necessarily complexity with added flavors.

Alternatives to Beer

There are lots of options! Just to clarify, this chicken isn’t filled with the taste of beer – the beer itself creates moisture in the cavity of the chicken. Any liquid works well. A few alternatives to try it with:

• Chicken Broth
• Vegetable Broth
• Lemon Lime Soda
• Ginger Ale

Beer Can Chicken Rub

This dry rub recipe is so simple and can be completely customized to your tastes. These are the seasonings that I combined to create a crave-worthy beer chicken rub. The specific amounts of this poultry rub deserves its own post- coming very soon!

• dried sage
• dried thyme
• dried marjoram
• dried rosemary
• ground nutmeg
• finely ground black pepper

How to Make Beer Can Chicken in Oven

It’s so easy make this beer can chicken right in your oven! It’s going to create a juicy, succulent bird whether you’re cooking outside or in.

1. Open your beer and feel free to drink a little!
2. Prepare chicken by removing any giblets, etc, and discard. Rinse the chicken and pat dry- be thorough here! Keeping the exterior dry as you prep is important.Next, place the beer can chicken directly into a roasting pan. In fact, you can pour 1/3 of your can of beer into the base of the roasting pan. Why not add that extra moisture?
3. Rub the chicken with your vegetable oil. Use your salt, pepper and dry rub all over the inside and outside of the bird. Set aside.
4. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Place your chicken into the oven and roast for one hour and fifteen minutes. Check your temp with a meat thermometer- you’ll want to see 180 degrees in the thickest part of the thigh, 165 in the breast.
5. Let restfor 10 minutes or so before you carve and serve. You can even make a loose tent over the chicken to create a moisture trap.

How to Make Beer Chicken On The Grill

1. Prepare chicken by removing any giblets, etc, and discard. Rinse the chicken and pat dry- be thorough here! Keeping the exterior dry as you prep is important.Next, place the beer can chicken directly into a roasting pan. In fact, you can pour 1/3 of your can of beer into the base of the roasting pan. Why not add that extra moisture?Open your beer and drink a little – you don’t want it to be too full.
2. Rub the chicken with your vegetable oil. Use your salt, pepper and dry rub all over the inside and outside of the bird. Set aside.
3. Fit your chicken over the beer can (which should be about half full at this point) and place the can onto the center of your grill grate. Use indirect heat for about 75 minutes, with the grill at medium-high heat. This temperature and placement works perfectly for me each time- you’ll want to check that the internal temp is 165 degrees in the breast.
4. Let restfor 10 minutes before carving and serving- you can remove the beer can once you take it off the grill.

Using a Smoker

Smoking chicken is very simple! Simply follow the oven directions above – if you have an electric smoker, set the temp for 350 degrees and cook until the meat thermometer shows the appropriate temperature, approximately 75 minutes.

How to Support the Chicken

• Use a Large Beer Can – This helps keep the chicken stable.
• Wire Rack – No special tools necessary here, but you can purchase a wire rack that holds the chicken upright with the beer in the cavity.

To Store

This chicken makes the best leftovers! Use it in salads, tacos, wraps and more!

• Refrigerate – Store in an airtight container up to 5 days.
• Freeze – Store in an airtight container or freezer bag up to 3 months.

BBQ Sides

This beer chicken works beautifully with all types of side salads and oven-friendly side dishes. Here’s just a few ideas you’ll enjoy!

• Roasted Mushrooms
• Baked Sweet Potato Fries
• Roasted Sweet Potatoes
• Grilled Baked Potatoes
• Baked Apple Slices
• Baked Artichokes
• Italian Vegetables
• Green Peas
• Truffle Fries
• Smashed Potatoes

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