Perfectly seasoned Smoked Beer Can Chicken is set to give your taste buds an experience of a lifetime. This super easy whole chicken recipe serves as a great party center piece even if it’s not the holidays. Just a slice of this amazing dish packs a great deal of flavor that goes well with many side dishes.
1teaspoon(2 g) bouillon powdermore or less, optional
2 teaspoons(10 g) garlicminced
2tablespoons(14 g)onion powdergranulated
2tablespoons(5.48 g) thymecan be substituted with oregano or basil
1tablespoon(7 g) paprika
1teaspoon(2 g) white pepper
salt, to taste
1canbeer, your preference
oil, for basting
Instructions
Preparing the Chicken
Prepare the chicken: Remove neck and giblets from chicken and discard. Rinse chicken with water, inside and out, then pat dry with paper towels.
Pre-season the bird: Rub inside and out of the chicken with salt. Set aside.
Mix the flavors: In a small bowl, combine spices. Generously rub the chicken with the spice combination, then refrigerate until ready to cook.
Prepare the beer: Open the beer can and empty half of it. Don’t go overboard – make sure you leave enough to cook the chicken. If desired, place a sprig of thyme into the beer can
Smoking the Chicken
Assembly: Place beer can on a solid surface. Then gently place the whole chicken over the beer can, with the chicken in the upright position.
Placement: Transfer chicken together with the beer can into the smoker, then use the chicken legs to support its body, so it acts like a tripod, preventing the chicken from falling over.
Close and Cook: Smoke chicken over medium-high heat; covered until cooked through and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of thigh registers 165°F in the breast and 180 °F in the thigh.
Remove and Rest: Carefully lift the chicken off the can, have one person remove the chicken while the other holds the beer. You will have to use paper towels as a kitchen cloth. Place chicken on a platter or carving board. Let it sit for another 10 minutes before carving. Discard beer.
Notes
Season Everywhere: When you season the chicken, make sure to cover every inch of it, and I mean every inch. Season the insides of the chicken and make sure to coat it all.
Use a pan: You never know what can happen inside the smoker. So in case things get a little out of hand and the chicken falls over, you have something to catch it.
Drink some of the beer: You don’t necessarily need to drink the beer; you just have to take away about half of the beer. We only need about half of it.