BEER CAN CHICKEN
As winter comes to an end and warmer weather is upon us, it's smoker season in Texas! Smoking foods on my wood smoker is one of my favorite past times and it has always been something that I love to do. It allows me to cook, enjoy my cigars, coffee, and adult beverages. Picking the right beer, seasonings, and wood makes all the difference in the meal, it’s amazing the process of food, drink, and cigars which makes this pairing comes to life.
I made a Mexican style beer can chicken in my Offset Smoker with the sides of roasted corn with a cilantro lime dip, and smoked queso (look for recipes on these later).
Equipment
- 1 Dripping Aluminum Roasting Pans (I used 11 3/4 in x 9 3/8 in x 2 5/16 in)
- 1 (20lb) Bag of Hardwood Lump Charcoal
- 1 (10lb) Bag of Mesquite BBQ Wood Chunks
- 1 (1 bundle) Hickory Wood
- 1 Meat Thermometer
- 1 Meat Baster
Ingredients
- Whole chicken 5 to 6 pounds
- Beer: El Chingón which is an IPA from Four Corners Brewery Texas or do a citrus IPA
- 1 Cup olive oil
- 1 Whole lime squeezed
- 1 Whole lemon squeezed
- 1 Whole orange squeezed
- 2 Tablespoons chili chipotle powder
- 2 Tablespoons ground white pepper
- 2 Tablespoons onion powder
- 2 Tablespoons garlic powder
- 2 Tablespoons salt
- 2 Tablespoons garlic salt
- 2 Tablespoons red pepper
- 2 Tablespoons cilantro seasoning
- 2 Tablespoons paprika
- 2 Tablespoons basil leaves
Instructions
- In a bowl, put all of the ingredients for the Beer Can Chicken Rub and whisk.
- Now its fire time! Layer evenly the bottom of the firebox with hardwood lump charcoal, then place Mesquite BBQ Wood Chunks (4 of them) evenly on top of the charcoal, and then place 1 Hickory wood log on top of the Mesquite and start your fire, you need to have the temp of the smoker get and maintain at 225 degrees F. Have vents open and I prefer to leave the smoke box door open as well.
- Next rinse the chicken and remove any gizzards from the inside.
- Set in the aluminum roasting pan and pat dry with clean paper towels.
- Gently and slowly loosen the skin covering the breast and thighs by sliding your fingers between the chicken meat and its skin.
- Scoop the rub seasoning using the tips of your fingers and then use your fingers to push it under the loosened skin coating the chicken meat. This will add more flavor to the chicken meat. Also rub it directly onto the chicken as evenly as possible.
- Next, using your hands, scoop and massage the seasoning rub on the outside of the chicken, distributing it evenly.
- Slowly work the cavity of the chicken onto the open IPA Beer can inside the aluminum pan. This will allow the chicken to sit upright.
- Your smoker should be at 225 degrees F, carefully place the chicken in the smoker while in the aluminum foil tray, close the lid, and smoke it for an hour.
- After an hour, turn the heat up by adding more Mesquite BBQ Wood chips to get the temperature to 350 degrees F and using the meat thermometer check to make sure the internal chicken reaches a temperature of 163 degrees F.
- Remove the chicken from the smoker and let it rest for 10 minutes (Just note that the chicken will increase by 2 degrees which is normal).
- Carefully with oven mitts remove the IPA Beer can from the cavity of the chicken.
- Dig in and enjoy!
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