Juicy beer can chicken

Step by Step

Step 1

Preheat your grill or oven to 425ºF. If you’re using a grill, leave one side of the burners off so that you can grill over indirect heat.

Step 2

Remove any innards (giblets) from the chicken and pat the chicken dry with a paper towel. Set aside.

Step 3

Prepare the spice rub. Add the brown sugar, garlic powder, salt, pepper, dried thyme, paprika, chili powder, and red pepper flakes to a bowl and mix together until combined. Set aside.

Step 4

Place the chicken on a plate or cutting board and separate the chicken skin from the meat. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the dry rub in between the skin and chicken meat and massage all the spices into the meat.

Step 5

Next, rub the softened butter in between the skin and meat of the chicken.

Step 6

Drizzle the olive oil on the outside of the chicken and then carefully sprinkle the rest of the chicken dry rub all over the chicken and massage the dry rub into the chicken skin. Be sure to massage the dry rub into every nook and cranny of the chicken.

Step 7

Open can of beer and pour out (or drink!) around 1/4 of it. If you’re cooking your chicken in the oven, place it on a large baking sheet.

Step 8

Carefully place the open cavity of the chicken on top of the beer can. You may need to find a balance where the chicken can stand without support. Sometimes balancing the chicken legs on the baking sheet works well.

Step 9

Finally, scrape any excess dry rub from the plate or cutting board that may have fallen off the chicken and sprinkle it over the chicken.

Step 10

Oven instructions: Place the baking sheet into the oven and roast for 45 minutes. Use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature and continue roasting until the internal temperature of the thickest part of the chicken reaches 165ºF. Ours took around 1 hour.

Step 11

Grill Instructions: Place the beer can chicken on the grill over indirect heat. Close the grill and cook for 45 minutes. Use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature and continue grilling until the internal temperature of the thickest part of the chicken reaches 165ºF. It should take around 1 hour.

Tips and Warnings

This recipe was updated on August 5, 2021. For the original recipe CLICK HERE.
Beer Can Chicken Holder: we’ve found that sometimes it’s hard to balance your whole chicken on the grill, so using a beer can chicken holder like this one can be super useful!

Ingredient

Olive oil

29.57 ml 1.03 fl. ozs
Chili powder

9.86 ml 0.35 fl. ozs
Red pepper flakes

4.93 ml 0.17 fl. ozs
Dried thyme

4.93 ml 0.17 fl. ozs
Garlic powder

221.8 ml 7.76 fl. ozs
Whole chicken

1.47 kg 3.24 lbs
Brown sugar

44.36 ml 1.55 fl. ozs
Ground black pepper

4.93 ml 0.17 fl. ozs
Kosher salt

7.39 ml 0.26 fl. ozs
Light beer

29.57 ml 1.03 fl. ozs
Salted butter

29.57 ml 1.03 fl. ozs
Smoked paprika

4.93 ml 0.17 fl. ozs
Light beer

1 can 1 can

Amount Per Serving
	Calories	359 kcal
	Carbohydrates	12 g
	Protein	52 g
	Fat	13 g
	Fiber	1 g
	Sugar	8 g

View nutrition facts

Juicy beer can chicken

Summary