beer butt chicken

[elephanto]

Does anyone have a recipe for chicken cooked in the oven with a beer can inside? I know you can get a range of gadgets to support the chicken from outlets in USA but I havent seen any here.

[BBWCHATT]

Elephanto - no need for any special gadgets to make it - just a chicken and a can of beer:)

BEER CAN CHICKEN

This odd recipe makes some of the most moist, succulent, flavorful barbecued chicken I've ever tasted. The secret: an open can of beer is inserted into the cavity of the bird, which is cooked upright on the grill. Besides being incredibly tender, the bird makes a great conversation piece. The recipe was inspired by the Bryce Boar Blazers, a barbecue team from Texas I met at the Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest. The proper beverage? Beer, of course.

1 large whole chicken (4 to 5 pounds)
3 tablespoons Memphis Rub* or your favorite dry barbecue rub
1 can (12 ounces) beer

1. Remove and discard the fat just inside the body cavities of the chicken. Remove the package of giblets, and set aside for another use. Rinse the chicken, inside and out, under cold running water, then drain and blot dry, inside and out, with paper towels. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the rub inside the body and neck cavities, the rub another 1 tablespoon all over the skin of the bird. If you wish, rub another 1/2 tablespoon of the mixture between the flesh and the skin. Cover and refrigerate the chicken while you preheat the grill.
2. Set up the grill for indirect grilling** placing a drip pan in the center. If using a charcoal grill, preheat it to medium.
If using a gas grill, place all the wood chips in the smoker box and preheat the grill to high; then, when smoke appears, lower the heat to medium.
3. Pop the tab on the beer can. Using a "church key" �style can opener, make 6 or 7 holes in the top of the can. Pour out the top inch of beer, then spoon the remaining dry rub through the holes into the beer. Holding the chicken upright, with the opening of the body cavity down, insert the beer can into the cavity.

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[BBWCHATT]

Continued from previous post........

4. When ready to cook, if using charcoal, toss half the wood chips on the coals. Oil the grill grate. Stand the chicken up in the center of the hot grate, over the drip pan. Spread out the legs to form a sort of tripod, to support the bird.
5. Cover the grill and cook the chicken until fall-off-the-bone tender, 2 hours. If using charcoal, add 10 to 12 fresh coals per side and the remaining wood chips after 1 hour.
6. Using tongs, lift the bird to a cutting board or platter, holding the metal spatula underneath the beer can for support. (Have the board or platter right next to the bird to make the move shorter. Be careful not to spill hot beer on yourself.) Let stand for 5 minutes before carving the meat off the upright carcass. (Toss the beer can out along with the carcass.)

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[BBWCHATT]

Continued from previous 2 posts.....

*Memphis Rub
1/4 cup paprika
1 tablespoon firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons accent (MSG; optional)
1 teaspoon celery salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 to 3 teaspoons cayenne pepper, or to taste
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
Combine all the ingredients in a jar, twist the lid on airtight, and shake to mix. Store away from heat or light for up to six months. Makes about 1/2 cup. Enough for 4 to 6 racks of ribs.
** Indirect grilling on a Charcoal Grill:
To set up you grill for indirect grilling, light the coals. When they are blazing red, use tongs to transfer them to opposite sides of the grill, arranging them in two piles. Some grills have special half-moon-shaped baskets to hold the coals at the sides; others have wire fences that hook onto the bottom gate. Let the coals burn until they are covered with a thin layer of gray ash. Set the drip pan in the center of the grill, between the mounds of coals. Place the food on the grate over the drip pan, and cover the grill. You�ll need to add about 10 to 12 fresh briquettes to each side after an hour of cooking.
If you want to add a smoke flavor, add 1 to 2 cups of presoaked wood chips, or 2 to 4 chunks, to the coals just before you start to cook, and again whenever you replenish the coals.

Serves 4 to 6.

The Barbecue Bible
June 1998
Steven Raichlen
Workman Publishing

[BBWCHATT]

Drunken Chicken
(Beer Can Chicken)
Recipe courtesy Paula Deen

1 (3-pound) chicken
Seasoned salt
House seasoning, recipe follows
1 (12-ounce) can beer
1 sprig rosemary

Preheat a charcoal grill over high heat. When the coals are hot and glowing, carefully push them over to the sides of the grill, leaving an open space in the middle of the grill. Wash and drain chicken. Coat the chicken inside and out with seasoned salt and House Seasoning. Open the can of beer and carefully insert a sprig of rosemary. Then, place the beer can into the body cavity starting at the rear of the chicken. Carefully place the chicken on the center of the grill, facing 1 of the banks of the coals, making sure not to spill the beer. Cover the grill and cook until chicken is done, approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour, turning the chicken as necessary. The chicken is done when the juice runs clear.

Serve chicken with favorite BBQ side dishes.

House Seasoning:
1 cup salt
1/4 cup black pepper
1/4 cup garlic powder

Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

[Clanad]

Hey, thanks for that Memphis Rub recipe <B<BBWCHATT, making some for storage as soon as I finish this. Any thing for BBQ with the name Memphis has gotta be good!
We've done the Beer Can Chicken for a long while and even found that a can of Seven-Up works well. It's a fruitier flavor but keeps the chicken just as moist.
(We don't drink and it's funny to see our neighbors face when I ask if we can borrow one can of beer!)

Thanks again... hope things are well in Tennessee!

[BBWCHATT]

Clanad - I hope you and Mrs. Clanad enjoy the Memphis Rub - you know Memphis takes their Barbeque VERY seriously:) If you just throw some corn on the cob on the grill with the chicken - you will have a feast!!!

Thanks for asking, things are great here in Tennessee!!!

BBWCHATT
The old lady in Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA

[elephanto]

Dear BWCHATT - can you oven cook the chicken?

[BBWCHATT]

Elephanto honey - I couldn't do it in my oven - because after I got that chicken propped up on it's legs it would be too tall to fit in the oven - but if it will fit in your oven I see no reason at all why you couldn't do it that way - but whatever you do, don't forget to open the can of beer before you insert it into the chicken and cook it, or it might explode!!! :)

[jim_lauchlan]

I have ordered a rack from here

http://www.beercanchicken.co.uk/