Rick Browne's Original Beer-Butt Chicken

By Shaylie

This original Beer-Butt Chicken recipe was first published in The Barbecue America Cook-book (Time Life, NY, and Lyons Press, NY) in 1999 and later demonstrated by the author for the first time on national television on the Regis and Kathie Lee show later that summer, and about a thousand times thereafter. There is nothing like this recipe for cooking up a bronze-colored, moist and incredibly flavorful chicken. Not to mention the awe-inspiring way it's cooked and presented. You can do it in your barbecue, or, surprise, in

your oven! The invention of the ingenious ChickCAN by Louisiana chef Kevin Hester has made this process even easier. (Though of course a regular beer can still works!)

Ingredients

• For the dry rub:
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon summer savory
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon dry yellow mustard
• tablespoon fine sea salt For the basting spray:
• 1 (12-ounce) can of your favorite
• beer
• 1 cup apple cider
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• tablespoons balsamic vinegar For the chicken:
• 1 large chicken

Preparation

Step 1

Make the rub: In a small bowl, mix the rub ingredients until well combined. Wash, dry, and season the chicken generously inside and out with the rub. Work the mixture well into the skin and under the skin wherever possible. Place in a medium howl, cover, and set aside at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes.
Prepare the spray: Pour one cup of the beer into a spray bottle, add the cider, olive oil and balsamic vinegar to the bottle, and set aside.
Heat a grill to 300° to 350°. Slide the chicken tail-side down over the partially-full can of beer; use the two legs and the can for a tripod to hold the chicken upright. Some people put a small potato or carrot in the neck opening of the chicken to keep the steam inside; I prefer to let it pass through. Grill for 1-1/2 to 2 hours over indirect heat. During the cooking time, spray the chicken with the basting spray several times. The chicken is done when the internal temperature reaches 180°. Carefully remove the bird from the grill, still resting on the can, and place it on a heatproof countertop. After your guests have reacted appropriately, remove the chicken from the beer can with tongs while holding the grill rack with an oven mitt. (Careful! The can is hot.)
Give the chicken one more spritz of the basting spray, then carve and serve. I love to team up this chicken with buttered noodles, cornbread stuffing and chilled beer


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