Simple Beer Can Chicken Cooked On Gas Grill

Beer can chicken is a party favorite. Its one of the easiest ways to roast chicken and it carries very little risk of drying out the meat.

Here’s how it works. By cooking a chicken upright with a can of beer (you could use cider, soda, or even fruit juice instead of beer if you wish) in the body cavity, the chicken cooks very evenly and moisture is introduced to the cooking process through the evaporating beverage.

Here’s how we create the most amazing beer can chicken.

Ingredients

1 – 4.5 pound (or larger) fresh chicken

2 tablespoons of butter, cut into 4 or 6 pats

5-7 teaspoons of Grate Grinds Roast Chicken Seasoning (plan on using 1 to 1.5 teaspoons of seasoning per pound of whole chicken)

1-2 tablespoons of olive oil

1/2 can of beer, hard cider, or soda

Preparation

1. Remove chicken from packaging, remove giblets or anything else inside the body cavity or attached to the bird elsewhere
2. Pat the entire chicken dry with a paper towel
3. Open your beer and dispose of roughly half of the contents. Set can aside
4. Using a small kitchen knife or paring knife, gently separate the skin on the breast from the meat underneath. Be careful not to tear the skin. Do not remove the skin entirely from the breast.
5. In the void you just created between the skin and meat, slide your pats of butter underneath so that each breast has 2 or 3 pats of butter
6. Drizzle 1-2 tables spoons of olive oil over the chicken and spread it around so the entire chicken is lightly coated with oil
7. Apply the Grate Grinds Roast Chicken Seasoning all over the chicken
8. Place your beer can in the beer can chicken holder, then slide the body cavity over the beer can. The chicken should stand up on its own.

Grill Preparation

1. (optional) Place a pan under you grill grates to catch drippings
2. Preheat the grill on low, or so it holds a temperature of 325 degrees

Cooking 

1. Set the chicken on the grill so it is placed directly over the catch pan, if you have one.
2. (optional) Lightly tent the chicken with foil
3. Allow the chicken to cook at 325 degrees for about 1 and 15 minutes, or until the internal temperature in the thickest part of the thigh is 165 degrees.  Rotate the chicken every 20-30 minutes to ensure even cooking.
4. Once internal temperature is 165 degrees, remove chicken from heat and allow to rest for at least 15 minutes before serving.