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Beer Can Chicken

This easy beer can chicken recipe guarantees moist, fall-off-the-bone meat and crispy, ultra flavorful skin.

Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
1 hr 20 mins
Additional Time
10 mins
Total Time
1 hr 55 mins
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 454 kcal
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American

Ingredients

  • 1 can room-temperature beer, with half the beer removed (I like to use tall, skinny cans, such as Coors Light)
  • 1 5-pound whole chicken, neck and giblets removed
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • 1 tablespoon cumin
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 2 teaspoons onion powder
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus a bit more sprinkling over entire chicken
  • 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • freshly-cracked course black pepper

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Preheat gas grill to medium-high heat, with all burners lit.
  2. With paper towels, pat chicken as dry as possibe, lightly squeezing around the legs and wings to get every bit of skin surface dry.
  3. In a small bowl, combine oil, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, kosher salt, paprika, chili powder, oregano, and black pepper. Rub it all over the chicken and inside the chicken cavity. Use every last bit.
  4. Carefully lower the seasoned chicken onto the half-full beer can, so the chicken is sitting upright. Tie the legs together with kitchen twine and tuck the wings in as best you can. Sprinkle chicken all over with a bit more kosher salt and a generous sprinkling of freshly cracked black pepper. It works best to have someone tilting the chicken a bit, and rotating, as you add this final sprinkle of flavor and texture.
  5. Turn off one grill burner and place chicken over this area, for indirect cooking. Reduce heat to medium and maintain a temperature of 325°F to 350°F. Shut the lid and walk away. Let cook, without opening the grill lid, for at least 40 minutes. Let cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes total before inserting an instant-read thermometer into the thickest part of a thigh. Without touching bone, the thermometer should read 160°F-165°F. For every 5-pound chicken we have ever grilled, this takes 1 hour and 15 minutes - but grills and temperatures vary, so do keep an eye on it all and adjust as needed.
  6. Now turn the heat up to high and let cook for 10 minutes longer, to amp up the crispiness of the skin. Every chicken we have grilled this way has turned out ultra juicy and moist, so we no longer worry about having dry chicken - we are more interested in producing a crackly, crisp skin at this point.
  7. Carefully remove chicken from grill (grilling gloves or heavy-duty oven mitts are helpful!) and let rest 10 minutes.
  8. Remove beer can from the cavity and carve the chicken.

Nutrition Information

Serving 1 Calories 454kcal (23%) Carbohydrates 4g (1%) Protein 112g (224%) Fat 59g (91%) Saturated Fat 16g (80%) Polyunsaturated Fat 38g Cholesterol 428mg (143%) Sodium 1131mg (47%) Fiber 1g (4%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 6servings

Amount Per Serving

Calories 454

% Daily Value*

Serving 1
Calories 454kcal 23%
Carbohydrates 4g 1%
Protein 112g 224%
Fat 59g 91%
Saturated Fat 16g 80%
Polyunsaturated Fat 38g 224%
Cholesterol 428mg 143%
Sodium 1131mg 47%
Fiber 1g 4%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.