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I was prepping my weekly whole chicken recently and realized I make a whole chicken almost every week, yet I never shared the recipe here. So today I’m finally sharing my favorite: Beer Can Chicken — a simple, flavorful way to roast a whole bird that we make nearly every week.
A whole chicken is hard to beat for frugal, versatile meals. I often find two-pack chickens for great prices, which gives us about four meals. Typically I roast a chicken on Sunday, eat half for dinner, and save the rest for later in the week. Leftover chicken makes excellent quesadillas, but it’s also perfect in soups, sandwiches, salads, pizzas — the options are endless.
For this recipe I use a special clay roasting pot I bought at a craft fair that works wonderfully, but you can use any similar pot or a wire roasting rack designed for beer can chicken. Whatever you use, this method yields incredibly juicy, flavorful meat.
If roasting a whole chicken sounds intimidating, don’t worry — it’s actually very straightforward. The prep is simple: remove the giblets, rinse and pat the chicken dry, rub it with oil, and season. Pop it in the oven and let it do its thing. Once you try it, it will become one of the easiest meals in your rotation.
Grab a couple of chickens next time you shop, dust off a roasting pot or rack, and try this Beer Can Chicken for tender, juicy results.
Beer Can Chicken
A whole chicken roasted over an open can of beer for juicy, flavorful meat.
10 minutes
2 hours
2 hours 10 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 (5-6 lbs) roasting chicken
- 1 can light beer* (or chicken broth)
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450º F.
- Open the beer and pour it into the roasting pot, filling to the top. If using an actual beer can on a rack, pour out about a third of the beer. Crush the garlic and add it to the beer.
- Combine the onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.
- Prepare the chicken: remove the giblets from the cavity, rinse the bird, and pat it dry with paper towels.
- Rub the chicken all over with the olive oil.
- Place the chicken cavity over the pot or can so the bird sits upright, stabilized by the beer-filled center.
- Rub the spice mixture evenly over the entire chicken.
- Bake uncovered for 30 minutes at 450º F.
- After 30 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 400º F and loosely cover the bird with foil. Insert a meat thermometer into the breast if desired.
- Continue cooking 60–90 minutes more, depending on chicken size, until the center of the breast reaches about 180º F.
- Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before carving and serving.
Notes
*If you prefer not to use beer, substitute chicken broth for a similar effect.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6
Serving Size:
1
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 301
Total Fat: 18g
Saturated Fat: 4g
Trans Fat: 0g
Unsaturated Fat: 12g
Cholesterol: 88mg
Sodium: 261mg
Carbohydrates: 2g
Fiber: 0g
Sugar: 0g
Protein: 28g
Nutritional data is automated; final values depend on ingredients and any changes made.
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Peace & Love
Lauren, The Schmidty Wife
P.S. Looking for more recipes? Try my Shrimp Stir Fry or Easy Southwest Chicken.