The beauty of beer-can chicken

With grilling and barbecue, as with almost everything else in life, the general rule of thumb is: Basic is better.

And it's hard to get much more basic in barbecue than beer-can chicken, which, in my backyard circle, has gone from novelty to steady favorite in little over a year.

Beer-can chicken's so simple you can pretty much describe it in a single sentence and still be hard-pressed to screw it up: On a grill set up with the ashed-over coals on either side, take a dry-rubbed whole chicken, stick a three-quarters-full beer can with extra holes punched on top into the cavity, prop up the chicken so it stands on the can in the middle of the grill, and cover and cook for about 90 minutes. (You can find a more detailed recipe on this site.)

And that's pretty much all you need to all but guarantee some of the most succulent barbecued chicken you'll ever have. It's goofy-looking, it's suspiciously simple, and it works.

Which brings me to the basic-is-better lesson we learned once again last night, the hard way. Thinking that it wouldn't be too difficult to improve on a good thing, we opted to drape the chicken with bacon, which we hoped would be nice and crispy when the chicken was. Instead, after 70 minutes, the bacon was burnt black on the outside while the bits that were stuffed inside the neck cavity (to keep them from falling into the coals) were still raw. We ended up having to just spread them out on the grill and finish them there, but we soon found out that the bacon had somehow soaked up all the jerk seasoning from inside the bird and become so salty as to be nearly inedible.

But the chicken was still fantastic.

Any too-simple-to-be-true recipes that you've come to rely on regularly?

Michael Y. Park is a writer living in Brooklyn, New York. He studied medieval history as an undergraduate at the University of Chicago, and journalism as a graduate student at New York University. His stories have appeared in publications including The New York Times, the New York Post, and the Toronto Globe and Mail.

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Posted by veritas Tue Jun 10, 2008 7:17pm PDT

your grill was way too hot. try indirect heat for the perfect crispy bacon outside with a juicy tender inside. it's even better if you cook on a smoker for several hours.

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Posted by Wendy G Wed Jun 11, 2008 6:49am PDT

Hey that BEER CAN CHICKEN looks yummy. Since here in Western Washington we are having and extended winter in mid-June, it's been more warm foods like steak, chili and of course RED WINE and pull the covers up, turn the heat on!
Staying warm with SPICES too, like curry or Thai Foods is great!
I am looking forward to outdoor grilling and will save the BeerCanChick recipe for the NEAR (warmer) future.

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Posted by randyletts Wed Jun 11, 2008 2:43pm PDT

the beer-can chicken (drunken chicken) is a long time favorite. Sometimes when it is done, the chicken will fall over from being so tender. The term drunken chicken.

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Posted by Nessa Wed Jun 11, 2008 2:44pm PDT

Pork loin in the crock pot all day covered with diet coke. Pour off diet coke and top loin with BBQ sauce. The loin will fall apart like butter. Yum. Serve on onion buns with cole slaw. You will thank me later. :)

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Posted by Paul A Wed Jun 11, 2008 2:44pm PDT

put it directly over the coals and cook for one hour, crispy skin, and perfectly done, I use only about a half full can of beer, that way it gets hot enough to steam a little bit, and put moisture in the grill.

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Posted by charmed one Wed Jun 11, 2008 2:48pm PDT

can u do the beer can chicken on a gas grill???

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Posted by beto h Wed Jun 11, 2008 2:53pm PDT

your close but no cigar..

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Posted by youngbetty90 Wed Jun 11, 2008 2:53pm PDT

i can't wait to try this

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Posted by Richard Chong Wed Jun 11, 2008 2:55pm PDT

PBRs work the best...

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