The Ultimate Beer Can Chicken Recipe
Perfect your beer can chicken recipe with succulent, juicy meat and crispy skin using upright cooking techniques that balance moisture and smoky flavor.
The Ultimate Beer Can Chicken Recipe
This recipe comes from Matt Pittman, CEO of Meat Church BBQ, YouTube personality, and friend of Montana Knife Company.
4
15 minutes
90 minutes
350
American BBQ
Dinner
This beer can chicken recipe combines two American staples (cold beer and barbecue!) to create a dish with succulent, juicy meat and crispy skin.
I’ve tested dozens of techniques and found that cooking a bird upright produces the best beer can chicken. The beer steams inside the cavity while the outside absorbs smoke. The resulting balance of moisture and flavor works whether you’re serving the chicken whole or pulling the meat for other dishes.
Ingredients
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- 1 whole chicken
- Your favorite barbecue rub (I always reach for Meat Church’s The Gospel All-Purpose Rub)
- 1 beer (light and inexpensive works best), room temperature
- 1 head of garlic cloves
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil (or cooking spray/mayo) as a binder
- 1/2 stick butter for basting
- Fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, and parsley) for stuffing the can
- Your favorite barbecue sauce (optional)
Directions
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- Prepare your smoker at 350°F. Use medium smoking wood like hickory or pecan, which complements chicken without overpowering its natural flavor.
- Rinse and thoroughly dry the chicken. Apply your chosen binder to help the seasoning adhere. Using a clean, sharp boning knife, carefully separate the skin from the meat to create pockets for seasoning.
- Season liberally with your chosen barbecue rub both over and under the skin. Season the inside cavity as well to make sure the flavor penetrates throughout the beer can chicken.
- Prepare the beer by removing the top with a can opener and pouring out one-third to one-half of the liquid. Add one tablespoon of seasoning to the can along with garlic cloves and herbs to create aromatic steam.
- Place the beer can in a throne stand, then position the chicken upright over the can.
- Set the beer can chicken on your smoker. A 5 1/2-pound bird takes about 90 minutes to cook properly.
Begin basting with melted butter at the 45-minute mark. This builds flavor and adds richness.
If using sauce, apply it when the beer can chicken reaches 155°F internal temperature to prevent burning.
- Cook until the deepest part of the breast registers 160°F on a clean thermometer. The beer can chicken will continue cooking slightly after removal.
- Let the beer can chicken rest briefly before carefully removing it from the throne. Use a high-quality carving knife with a well-maintained edge to carve the bird into perfect portions.
