"Beer Can" Chicken

I’ve notoriously had a really hard time roasting a whole chicken all the way through. Even with my handy dandy meat thermometer there always seems to be some pink left in the bird when I attempt to serve it. For a time I thought I had it whipped when I discovered beer can chicken. You know beer can chicken? Essentially, you shove a half full can of beer up the butt of a whole chicken and then cook it vertically on your grill. This method is very successful: the chicken ends up quite moist and quite cooked.

Unfortunately there are few things more wheaty and barleyey than beer so I haven’t done this in quite some time. Today, however, while cleaning I rediscovered my Williams-Sonoma vertical roaster that I acquired at a yard sale and the slightly fermented cider in my fridge: a new idea was born!

“Beer Can” Chicken

  • 1 Whole roaster
  • 1 T salt
  • 1 t ground pepper
  • 2 t paprika
  • 1 t cumin
  • 1 t dried oregano
  • 1 t dried thyme
  • 1 C apple cider
  1. ♥ Mix herbs together into a spice rub
  2. ♥ Pat whole bird dry and run spice rub over skin and cavity (remove guts if needed)
  3. Sit bird on the vertical roaster with cup filled with apple cider
  4. Roast on indirect medium heat for at least 90 minutes

The kids ended up picking the bones clean. The chicken was very moist and cooked all the way through.

Please note, the heart symbol (♥) indicates steps your children can help you do!

You Might Also Like

Shop with Stacy Toth for 20% on Clean Beauty use codeCLEANFORALL20 here