This past week the Chicago Tribune featured writer John Kass' recipe for beer can chicken. We decided to try it ourselves and boy oh boy was it delicious. Not only was it amazingly good and juicy, but it had very minimal prep, was very easy, and was very cheap. That's a lot of very's! We got our chicken from Costco, where two 4-5 lb chickens wrapped together cost $8. So the main part of this meal cost only $4. Pretty good. Add to that the fact that the seasonings used were all kitchen staples. We had to buy one lemon and canned beer (we used Hamms- probably the cheapest beer you can find). For sides, we had baked potatoes (on sale) and corn on the cob (also on sale). This entire meal cost us about $8, and we even have leftovers.
We didn't buy the special Cavender's Greek Seasoning but instead mixed oregano and garlic powder as is detailed below.
Last year on July 4th we also made an incredible dinner from my favorite Everyday Food cookbook. We're happy that we may have started a tradition of having some fantastic Independence Day dinners.
To watch John Kass make this himself, click here.
--------------------------------------------------
Beer Can Chicken
From the Chicago Tribune, June 30, 2009
The Tribune's John Kass prefers to flavor the chicken with Cavender's Greek Seasoning, a proprietary spice blend made by the Arkansas-based
S-C Seasoning Co. (cavendersseasoning.com) You can substitute your own
blend. Kass suggests crushing 3 tablespoons dried oregano in your hands
into a small bowl; add 2 teaspoons each salt and pepper, plus 1
teaspoon garlic powder, and mix.
Prep: 10 minutes
Brine: 30 minutes
Cook: 1 hour
Makes: 4 servings
1/2 cup kosher salt
1 whole frying chicken, about 4 pounds
1 lemon, halved
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup Greek seasoning mix
1 can (12 ounces) beer
Fill sink or large bowl with cold water; add salt and vinegar. Soak chicken in brining solution 30 minutes or more. Rinse chicken, pat dry. Rub chicken with one half of the lemon. Rub inside of chicken with other half of lemon. Coat chicken on all sides with olive oil. Rub chicken inside and out with seasoning mix.
Prepare a grill for indirect cooking. Punch two holes in the top of the beer can, away from the opening. Pour off 1/4 of the beer (about 1/2 cup); add any remaining rub to the beer in the can. Slowly insert the can of beer into the chicken's cavity until chicken legs are even with the end of the can. Place the chicken on the grill, standing upright with the legs forming a tripod. Close lid; grill until the juices run clear, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Carefully pick up chicken with tongs; transfer upright to a cutting board. Stick a long handled spoon through the neck hole of the chicken; gently push beer can through without spilling, holding chicken with the tongs. Allow chicken to rest 15 minutes before cutting into pieces.
--------------------------------------------------
The Tribune wine guy suggested this meal be paired with a Chardonnay :-) Enjoy!
***Update 7/15/09***
To update our beer can chicken experience- we made this a second time this past weekend. We had it for lunch so ended up brining it overnight instead of ~30 minutes beforehand. It tasted delicious. Even better than the first time. If you can allow for extra brine time, go for it!
