I Can Beer Can

 

You won't see Beer Can Chicken on the menu at the Ritz-Carlton, there won;t be a category for it at the big barbecue cook-off, but this unassuming dish is as tasty as it is easy to make. There are two main ingredients, a chicken and a beer can doesn't get much simpler than that. It'd be handy to have a grill, doesn't even need to be a 500LBS cast-iron smoker in the shape of a pig, any grill with a cover will do as long as the chicken will fit upright when the cover is on.

The first step is chicken prep and it can be as involved as you like. I found a technique on line where you sprinkle the skin of the chicken very liberally with salt, wrap the rascal and place it back in the fridge for two hours. Now, I hope I don;t have to tell you to keep everything sparkling clean, including your mitts when you are working with poultry, if you don't realize this by now you've probably already killed someone (or they wish they'd've died). Don't go fussing about all that salt either because we're going to rinse it off really good later. The salt helps the skin retain water while breaking down proteins and helps for a crispier skin later in the process. A lot of chicken I've made and had tastes like it was wrapped in a rubber wetsuit.

Moisture is the key and anything done to help introduce it to the chicken is welcome. The can, besides acting as a cooking implement, is filled halfway with beer – what happens to the rest of the beer is up to you, but the beer will help flavor and moisten. To help the breast meat along, as it has a habit of coming out dry, is to gently work the skin away from the breasts and insert a couple slices of bacon, or if a porkophobe, a couple pats of butter. I will also make the bird a designer jacket to go over the breast in the initial stages of the cooking to allow the dark meat to get a head start.

You can introduce any flavors you like at this point. Shove herbage up into the cavity (remember to leave room for the can), give it a rub with your favorite BBQ rub or snake some herbs up in between the skin and the breast meat. Don't forget you can inject as well to bring both flavor and moisture into t he meat itself. I'm going to leave this bird alone, relying on the beer in the can to help to flavor and moisturize. If a first timer it might be wise to refrain from introducing too many variables at one time, just to see how it goes.

Time to set up the old grill. We'll be wanting indirect heat on this one, that is to say coals on either side of the chicken, but none directly under it. The can will be providing moisture, if you didn't drink all the beer, but it wouldn't hurt to put a drip pan under the bird to catch any escaping juices. Once the coals are hot and distributed, shove the can where the sun don't shine (on the chicken, that is) and use it as a stand with the legs to help stabilize the fowl, sort of a meaty tripod. Oh did I mention putting a bit of spray oil on the can to help with separation later? You'll really want to do that.

And now we slap the cover on and bid a fond farewell to our bird, trying to keep the heat between 250 and 300. I'll want the internal temperature of the thigh meat to be approaching 170 before I pull the bird, removing the can and covering the chicken with some foil to rest and cruise up to 170.

Now you're a real BBQ hero, the trickiest part of the whole operation is carving the bird and not leaving it look like a prop in a slasher movie. After adding this to your repertoire you can set your sights on the Thanksgiving Day Gobbler (not Cousin Frank, but the turkey) and introduce the big bird to your grill. .   

Mr. Chicken sporting the latest in foil fashion wear, which also help shield the breast meat and keeps the NSA from reading the chicken's mind. 

Taking the bird's temperature insures you won't kill any of your party guests with underdone poultry.