Beer Can Chicken

Time to fire up the grill and make this moist and juicy Beer Can Chicken! There’s nothing better than sitting out on the deck and grilling up this chicken for dinner!

All you need to do is make a couple delicious side dishes like this Cheesy Roasted Asparagus and some Twice Baked Potatoes and you’ve got yourself a party!

carved chicken on a platter

I know there are tons of recipes for beer can chicken, some are pretty complicated and some are easy. This one beats them all as far as easy chicken recipes go. Just a simple dry rub mixture, a chicken and a bottle of beer! 

How Do You Make Beer Can Chicken?

Grab your roaster and season the chicken with the dry rub. We added some small red potatoes to our roaster just because we had them, but you can feel free to just cook the chicken, or add your vegetables of choice.

Now garb your favorite brand of beer, whatever you like to drink and add it to the bottom of the roasting pan. If you don’t have a beer can chicken roaster, you can use an empty (clean) can on top of a roasting rack or a foil pan.

beer can chicken on the grill with potatoes

Then this is what it looks like after about an hour…

beer can chicken on roaster

Test the chicken in the thigh area to see if it’s reaching about 165 degrees. Pull it off the grill at that point, tent it with foil and let it least at least five minutes before carving.

Try and get it to the table before everyone peels all the crispy-seasoned skin off…our chicken was pretty bare by the time we got it to our table… I should have taken a picture of that, but this looks a little more appetizing! Enjoy!

sliced beer can chicken on a platter

How Do You Serve Beer Can Chicken?

We like to carve the chicken like you see in the photo below. This way everyone can get a little bit of dark meat and white meat, or whichever part of the chicken they like.

Usually, in our house the legs go first, especially for the kids. You can even make a quick sauce or our favorite Whiskey Gravy for serving on the side!

carved chicken on a platter

What Kind Of Chicken Do You Use For Beer Can Chicken?

Grab a whole chicken or an oven roaster from your butcher or the grocery store. Typically an oven roaster will be about 6-7 pounds, but a little over or under isn’t going to make a difference.

Just make sure to test your chicken in the thigh area to make sure that you’re reaching 165 degrees, even if it’s a little less or more than the cooking time listed in the recipe card.

What Can I Make With Leftover Chicken?

Oh yes, we certainly do. If you find that you have any leftover Beer Can Chicken, there’s a ton of ways to use it up besides just snacking on it from the fridge!

Looking For More Easy Chicken Recipes?

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Beer Can Chicken

  • Author: Dan
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
  • Yield: 6 Servings 1x

The easiest beer can chicken recipe, a dry rub and a beer!

Scale

Ingredients

  • 1 6-7 lb. whole chicken
  • 1 can of beer (any kind)

For The Dry Rub:

  • 1 1/2 tablespoons paprika
  • 2 tablespoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 2 teaspoons cumin
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

  1. Rinse and dry off the chicken with paper towels.
  2. Pour the beer into the insert on the roaster and place the chicken on top of the insert. (South side down)
  3. Mix the ingredients for the dry rub together in a bowl. Season the chicken generously with the dry rub.
  4. Put the roaster on the grill at 400 degrees and cook for an hour. Keep an eye on the temperature of the grill while it’s cooking to make sure it doesn’t go too far over 400 degrees. Check the temperature after an hour, the chicken is done when it’s at 165 degrees. A 6 1/2 pound chicken will take about 1 1/2 depending on the temperature of your grill, so check the chicken after about an hour.
  5. Place on a cutting board and cover with foil for 15 minutes, then carve up and serve!

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 4
  • Category: Dinner
  • Method: Grill
  • Cuisine: American

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