A couple of years back, I kept seeing this “beer can chicken” trend. It was everywhere I looked…food network, Pinterest, Facebook etc. It definitely intrigued me and forced me to try it for myself. At first glance I was super confused and wondered. “What the heck does the beer do!?” After reading up on it and trying it for myself, I realized the beer did a lot. Because the beer is opened and placed inside the chicken…the condensation and steam created from the heat in turn creates this ultra juicy chicken. All that moisture from the beer essentially gets sucked into the meat. I think roasting chicken can be tricky sometimes. Even if you slightly over cook a chicken, chances are it’ll be dry. The beer really helps to make sure the chicken is juicy throughout.
Note: Although I roasted the chicken, you most certainly can put it on a grill as well! Just make sure to place it on a pan to catch the juices for the gravy.
Note: when I first started making this chicken, I wondered if the choice of beer mattered. I made it with a bunch of different kinds of beer (whatever was in my fridge at the moment). My ending consensus is that the brand of beer doesn’t matter. The main reason for the beer is to create that steam and condensation. If you were to get a specifically flavored beer, you may or may not get a slightly different taste. (Like apple, citrus, dessert beer, etc.) I wouldn’t stress too much though, any canned beer will work just fine.
Note: When roasted anything, the cook time will always differ according to size of the meat. Be sure to occasionally check the internal temperature of the chicken with a meat thermometer to make sure you don’t over cook it.
BEER CAN ROASTED CHICKEN + BROWN GRAVY
ROASTED CHICKEN
Prep time: 10 minutes
Total time: 1 hour and 30 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
5-6 lb whole chicken
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 canned beer of your choice (I used Dos Equis)
2 tsp salt
1 tsp chili powder
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Mix together all the spices in a small bowl. Set aside.
Open the beer and pour half of it out (or drink half of it!). Set aside.
Wash and dry the chicken thoroughly, making sure to remove everything from the cavity of the chicken. Once dried off, rub olive oil over the whole chicken.
Generously rub the spice mixture on every inch of the chicken. Make sure the whole chicken is covered.
Once the chicken is covered in the spice rub, carefully place the beer in the cavity of the chicken. Sit the chicken upright so the beer does not spill.
Place the chicken in a baking dish lined with aluminum foil. The foil will help catch the juices used for the gravy later on. It will also help keep the baking dish from getting burnt on juices.
Place the chicken in the middle rack of the oven and cook for about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Depending on the size of your chicken, the cook time will differ. Use a meat thermometer to measure the temperature of the chicken. The internal temperature should be 160 degrees when done cooking.
Once out of the oven, let it sit 10 minutes. While the chicken sits, begin to make the gravy with the rendered juices in the bottom of the baking dish.
Carefully remove the beer with a towel (it will be very hot). Once removed, carve the chicken and serve with gravy.
BROWN GRAVY
Total time: 5 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup rendered juices from the chicken
2 tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 cup – 1 cup chicken stock
DIRECTIONS:
Transfer the juices (from the chicken in the bottom of the baking dish) to a small pot. Turn pot to medium high heat and add the flour. Whisk the chicken juices and flour together and let it thicken for 1-2 minutes.
Slowly add in the chicken stock 1/4 cup at a time till you reach the desired consistency.
Serve hot with roasted chicken.