Beer Can Chicken!

[Guest Vitamin X]

Anyone ever make this? I just did it for the first time on Sunday night.

 

I didn't do it the "proper" way meaning on a grill, because I can't grill being that I live in an apartment complex. But I did make a damn fine chicken. I used a fairly small spring chicken, about 4.5 pounds, sourced from a local farm and then I dressed the motherfucker and threw all its giblets in my big ol' stock bag. I made sort of a sofrito at the bottom of a big dutch oven with garlic, bell pepper, onion, and some salt and pepper and then as soon as that cooked, I added half a can of beer. I also covered the chicken itself with some olive oil, kosher salt, pepper, rosemary, and oregano. Then I stock a couple garlic gloves and some leftover onion, bell pepper, and pepperscorns in the now half empty beer can and then shoved it up the chicken's ass and plopped it in the middle of the dutch oven and roasted it for about an hour and a half at 350. It came out extremely delicious and I was even able to salvage a gravy out of the bits of it (with beer!) by draining the fluid out through a sieve and putting it back in the dutch oven and whisking in some flour and a bit of chicken stock. Maybe should've added some browned sausage to it all as well.

 

Either way, came out really well and I have a lot of leftover chicken to use for a variety of dishes throughout the week. Salads, pasta, a lot of different entrees, you name it. Saves a lot of money and time, although I wish I had better carving skill to get perfect breast cuts and all that from it.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

I've done beer can chicken before. I did it on the grill, but I sort of misjudged how long it would take and didn't have a proper amount of coals. It turned out well, but it wasn't good enough that I've ever thought about doing it again. Maybe this summer I'll give it another try.

 

As for carving, it just takes some practice. I usually push my knife into the center of the back until I find the bone. From there I move an inch to the left (if you're right handed) and make a cut with an inward sweeping motion. Repeat on the other side. If you brace your knife correctly you should be able to remove the breast in one nice cut. Doesn't hurt to have a nice, sharp chef's knife either.

[Jaxxson Mayhem 0]

I've had it many times before and it always turns out great. I think the first time I had it was.........somewhere around 8 years ago or something.

[Guest Vitamin X]

I've done beer can chicken before. I did it on the grill, but I sort of misjudged how long it would take and didn't have a proper amount of coals. It turned out well, but it wasn't good enough that I've ever thought about doing it again. Maybe this summer I'll give it another try.

 

To me the most surprising thing about it was how the beer flavor didn't really permeate all throughout the chicken too much, if at all. It just made it incredibly tender and moist, and I really liked that, but that could be because I used quite a bit of it.

 

Seems to me that the natural invention for this idea came from being on a camping/fishing/hunting trip- outdoors, at any rate- and someone finished half a beer and decided to make some chicken by shoving it up its ass and putting it over an open fire. It's redneck genius. I love it.