Beer Butt Chicken

I've been wanting to try this method of cooking a chicken for quite some time. We participate in a meat CSA through a local farm and my husband's favorite item is hands down the little roasting chickens. They're hard to cook during the summer months..the last thing I want to do is turn on an oven at 400 degrees. So, I thought we'd give this method a whirl....

It was pretty simple. I washed the chicken, rubbed it with a little olive oil, and sprinkled him with salt and pepper. I took a can of beer...Mr. Allan's choice this weekend to accompany him during his yard work was Bud Light Lime. We emptied, aka Mr. Allan drank, half of the beer. We took the half full can of Bud Light and sat the chicken right on it. I let the grill heat up. We have a 3 burner gas grill. Most tips I read about cooking the chicken this way advised to not sit it on direct heat. I had the furthest burner on a higher temp and the chicken was placed over a burner that was not on..our version of "indirect heat"

I left the chicken on the grill undisturbed for 1 hour. At the hour mark, we took a peek and let him cook for an additional 30 minutes. This was the chicken after the full cooking time.

I was really surprised by this. It was so easy to cook the chicken this way and the end result was an extremely moist chicken with a nice crisp skin. Usually I make the husband carve the chicken so I don't have to eat it off the bone..lucky for me he's a former Kenny Roger's Roasters employee and can carve a mean chicken...but, he just cut into quarters and it was excellent!

Beer Butt Chicken

4-5 lbs roasting chicken

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

1 half full can of beer..any will do

Directions

 Pre heat one burner of a gas grill. If you're using a charcoal grill, have the heated charcoal on one side of the grill.

Rinse chicken. Rub with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Take 1 beer can that is half full of beer. Place the beer can in the cavity of the chicken..aka sit the chicken on the beer can. Place on the unheated side of the grill. Cook for 1 1/2 hours.

After 1 1/2 hours, either check the temp or cut into the chicken to make sure the juices run clear.