Beer Can Chicken Recipe

Servings: 4
Prep time: 15 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients

for the dry rub:
(makes 1/2 cup dry rub total)
2 tablespoons coarse sea salt
2 tablespoons freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1 tablespoon sweet paprika

for the chicken:
1 whole chicken (3-4 pounds is best)
1 can cheap domestic beer (or a 6 pack: 1 beer for the chicken 5 for drinking)

Directions

1. Make the dry rub: Mix all the ingredients together and set aside.

2. Prepare the chicken: Pat the chicken dry, and rub the chicken, inside and out, with the dry rub. Slide your fingers between the skin and the meat and get a little bit of rub up in there, too, while you're at it.

3. Heat a grill for indirect grilling: bank the coals onto one side of the grill once they're lit so that there's a hot part and a cool part. Put a drip pan on the cold side. Pour half of the beer into the drip pan and insert the can with the remaining beer into the chicken so it sits with legs down and wings up. Tuck the wing tips back to prevent excessive burning. Put the chicken on the cooking grate, over the drip pan, using the beer and the ends of the legs to form a tripod. Cover the grill, and cook, rotating the chicken every 15 to 20 minutes, for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F.

4. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and let rest for about 10 minutes before carving.

From How-To: Make Beer Can Chicken