Great on the Grill or in the Oven

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Recipe adapted from Grilling author Steven Raichlen

Method: Indirect grilling or Oven

• 1large whole chicken
• 3TBS spice rub
• 2bay leaves
• ½lemon
• 1can (12 oz) beer or 1 clean can and ½ a beer (or lemonade).

Special Equipment:

• 1½cups mesquite chips, soaked in cold water to cover for 1 hour and drained. Skip if using indoors in the oven.
• Beer can chicken rack.

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 TBS of the rub inside the body and neck cavities, then rub another 1 TBS all over the skin of the bird.

If you wish, separate the skin from the flesh by running your fingers under the skin over the breasts. Make a small slit on the cavity end and repeat over the drumstick and thighs. Rub another ½ TBS of the mixture between the flesh and skin. Cover and refrigerate the chicken while you preheat the grill/oven.

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. Drink half the beer, then spoon the remaining dry rub through the holes into the beer. Crumble the bay leaves into the can. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon into the can. Place the squeezed lemon half onto the top of the can. Holding the chicken upright, with the opening of the body cavity down, insert the lemon and beer can into the cavity.

Grill Method: 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.

When ready to cook, if using charcoal, toss half the wood chips on the coals. Oil 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. If using an oven, stand the chicken in a roasting pan. Beer can chicken racks help here and make it easier to separate the chicken from the can once cooked.

Cover the grill and cook the chicken, until fall-off-the-bone tender, 75 minutes to 2 hours. If using charcoal, add 10 to 12 fresh coals per side and the remaining chips after 1 hour.

Oven Method: Preheat to 375°F. Place chicken in oven and roast for 50 – 90 minutes depending on size of the bird. 165°F in the breast and 175°F in the thigh.

Carve & Serve: Using tongs, lift the bird to a cutting board or platter, holding a large 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 15 to 30 minutes before carving the meat off the upright carcass. (Toss the beer can out, freeze the carcass for stock).