recipes: beer can chicken

The last time I googled "beer can chicken" I got 6,160,000 results--which leaves me a bit chagrined as I didn't hear about this easy and delicious recipe until a girlfriend recently mentioned she made them frequently (and then gifted me with the beer can stands and a disposable baking tin). Since then, I've made it numerous times--including tonight, heh--so I thought it time to share it in case you, like me, are one of the last few to hear about it.

The set up is simple. Place the beer can stand in a disposable baking tin (believe me, the clean up is much easier if you use one of these instead of your own roaster), spray with cooking spray and put a half-empty can of beer in the stand. Some recipes call for the tall cans, but I've always used the regular 12 ouncers. Then clean and rinse inside and out a four to five pound chicken, patting it dry. Place it drumsticks-down over the beer can (see photo) and brush with oil or spray with olive oil cooking spray. Then season inside the cavity and all over the outside with your favorite seasonings (I'm partial to Weber's Beer Can Chicken Seasoning and McCormick Grill Mate's Montreal Chicken). My girlfriend does hers on her gas grill, but I don't trust my grill that much. Instead, I roast them in a 350F oven until the internal temp in the thickest part of the thigh reaches 180F. Mine usually take about an hour and half to two hours. Easy--and delicious!