We sure had a beautiful day on Sunday. With one look at the forecast, we were ready to lay claim to Spring. We quickly made plans for cooking something out on our Big Green Egg, and by something, I mean chicken and some corn-on-the-cob! We actually prepared two chickens, because we made Beer Can Chicken. If you have not made or enjoyed Beer Can Chicken yet, you need to get on it! I mean, seriously! It's delicious, it's so easy to prepare, and it never disappoints. It is the juiciest chicken too!
In case you have never prepared, tasted, or even heard of Beer Can Chicken, I wanted to share with you why we so enjoy it! Beer Can Chicken, is simply chicken cooked while sitting over a can of beer, and it produces a very moist and juicy chicken. It doesn't taste like beer, in case you are wondering. We purchased a Beer Can Chicken holder (we found ours at the Ace Hardware store), and then we later picked up a second one the next time we were at the Big Green Egg shop, because we knew we would want to be able to make more than one at a time, especially if we had guests. This holds the beer can, and the chicken nice and stable while it cooks. You could maybe get away with not having the holder and just sit the chicken over a can, but the stability will be lacking.
Here is what our holder(s) looks like when ready for the chicken. It folds flat when not in use. I've seen different types available at a few different stores, especially in the spring/summer.
This photo shows the chickens that have been placed over the beer cans in the holder, and they're ready for the grill, uh Big Green Egg that is, and ain't it a beaut? We sure enjoy cooking our food on it!
We cleaned and prepared the whole chickens then added some seasonings for extra flavor. We like to try different types of seasonings, but my all time favorite is Bad Byron's Butt Rub. Boy, do I love that stuff! There's a link there for you where I even wrote a post about it! We also like the Whirly Bird seasoning from the BGE shop, it's great on chicken. Oh and their Viva Caliente seasoning too, it adds a bit of heat and is also good for chicken, especially hot wings.
We cooked our chickens according to their package direction, which suggested 20 minutes per pound at 350 degrees, or until a meat thermometer inserted in the thigh area, reads 180 degrees. One of the great things about our BGE is being able to control the temperature, but the taste of the food cooked on it is the best reason to own one. Nothing beats the flavor and taste of that lump wood charcoal, and the aroma while cooking is something else!
We prepared about a 5 lb and a 6 lb chicken, so just under two hours cook time was needed. We cooked two so we could use the extra chicken for a cobb salad the next evening for our dinner, and also have some left-over for lunches.
Ta da! Look at that deliciousness!
I should have turned them around and gotten another shot of the 'breast' side, but we were so ready to get our chicken off of the beer can holder, onto the serving platter and sliced, that it was not as important as the desire to taste them! And, that chicken tasted so delicious. This method always produces the juiciest chicken! I hope you'll give Beer Can Chicken a try real soon!
Enjoy!...
P.S. I simply couldn't resist adding this little touch of humor!
source unknown
:)...
