Grilling and Beer, What Guy Wouldn't Like It?

Once Memorial Day hits, my mind goes to two things: drinking beer and grilling. If you combine the two, you get this great beer can chicken recipe! It's cheap, healthy, and damned tasty. A few cans of Shlitz and a chicken aren't going to make a big dent in your pocketbook. Chicken is chock-full of protein and B vitamins. And you don't need any weird ingredients or complicated techniques.

The Ingredients

1 whole chicken (or more, if they fit on your grill)
pepper and salt
2 cans of beer

The Recipe

1. Fire up the grill. If it's coal, put two piles of coal on either side of the grill so that it can heat indirectly. If you are using an electric grill, set it to 350.

2. Take the giblets out of the chicken. Rinse with water then dry the bird. Sprinkle salt and pepper all over the inside and outside.

3. Crack open a beer and drink half. Place the can inside the chicken's cavity so that it balances on top.

4. Toss it on the grill. Have another beer.

5. You will need to cook for about 2 hours. Check on it after an hour to add more coal and turn the bird if necessary.

6. When the chicken is crispy on the outside and the juices that come out when you poke the thigh are clear. Remove it from the heat and let sit at least 10 minutes.

It's Healthy, Too!

Chicken is also awesome from a health standpoint. Lots of misguided nutritionists will tell you to eat less meat, but eating more animal products is a great way to lose fat and gain muscle. Check out this video for more awesome pointers.



The Variations

This basic recipe will give you a lot of mileage. But if you want to change things up a bit, try some of these variations.

-Chop up some onions and dice some garlic to put in the chicken's cavity along with the beer.

-Sprinkle some dry spices or dry rub on the chicken along with the pepper and salt.

-Coat the outside of the chicken with olive oil or butter after rinsing and drying it.

The Video

If you are more of a visual person, here's a good video also showing the preparation of beer can chicken. It's a little long, but you should get the idea. One thing, I strongly suggest you do NOT use salad dressing, as they do. Most salad dressings are nasty concoctions of high fructose corn syrup and synthetic vegetable oils. Might as well get right down to business and coat that baby with butter instead.