Beer Butt Chicken Recipe

Ok! Here's the trick to getting the can off/out of the bird. Spray the beer can top and sides (Not bottom) with non-stick cooking spray before placing the chicken on it. The can simply slides right off! :-) Love the recipe! We always add more spice, and you can also maranade the chicken in a bag beforehand insted of th rub.

The first time I tried this - I did it on the grill. I have a very small grill and did not realize it should be covered. I could not do it on my grill because I could not close the lid - The chicken was too tall and well it never cooked. Now I make Beer Butt Chicken in the oven. I put it in my roasing pan, Bake it for 1 1/2 - 2 hours at 350 (don't need to cover it) lol. I also Put in some Potatoes (huge bakers) at the same time (Not in the roasting pan - on the oven rack). I use a funnel to add the butter and spices to the beer in the can. It is better to use warm beer - because when adding melted butter to cold beer it foams up. I bought the can holder for beer butt chicken - It makes it stand up alot easier and stays in place when you Take it out to transport it to the cutting board. YUMM !!! The chicken is browned to perfection and So tender the meat just falls off the bone. It is Awesome!!!! Thankyou so much for the recipe.

This was a great starter made fabulous with a couple of adjustments. First, just softened the butter then mixed in the paprika, 4 cloves minced garlic (instead of garlic salt),salt, pepper, 1tbs italian seasoning, and 1tbs lemon juice. After it was mixed well I used a spoon to lift the skin and smear the butter under the skin around the entire chicken. I put the chicken inside a pan to catch the drippings and added 1/2 can of chicken broth, the beer I poured out of the can, lemon juice, and 1 onion cut in chunky pieces. I basted it with the pan drippings a couple of times while it cooked and got the most flavorful, crispy skin wrapped around the juiciest chicken. I've tried a couple of different recipes, all cooked in the oven, but this one was by far the best. This is going to be on the summer menu a lot! Oh, and the grill was set to just shy of 400 degrees - done to 165 in 1 hour 15 minutes - verified with the wireless thermometer.

Great Recipe! I made this twice, on our pellet grill. Both were excellent, I used a better pan the second time because the flimsy disposable pan was a nightmare. Do plug the top cavity with a potato! Do drink 1/2 the beer and load up the can with all the fresh herbs! While prepping, separating the skin and adding butter herb mixture will keep the meat nice and moist. Thank You for sharing! awesome keeper recipe!

I have made a recipe similar to this for years, and everyone raves about it. My changes are: Add chopped onion and garlic to the beer - nothing else. If you can't use beer, use a soda can filled with chicken broth and onion/garlic. Greasing the outside of the can will make it easier to remove from the chicken after it is cooked! (I spray mine with PAM) I lightly oil the outside of the chicken, and then use a rub of brown sugar - chili powder - pepper - salt - garlic powder & onion powder; mixed to your taste. This adds flavor and crisps the skin nicely. Keeping your grill at around 300 - 350 works best, and IMO smaller chickens cook quicker (obviously) and have more flavor. Leftovers are great for chicken salad or quesadillas. (I always cook an extra chicken to insure I have leftovers.) For a special dinner, use cornish hens and small juice cans...each guest gets their own!

This was very juicy- I made two chickens; one as posted and one lemon pepper- the lemon pepper was the Family favorite. I placed a garlic clove in the beer with a splash of olive oil. Put half and onion and two cloves of garlic in the cavity. Mixed about 1/4 cup of olive oil and 3 tbls of lemon pepper seasoning in a bowl; let it sit for about 10 minutes and rubbed on the chicken. Both were very good- my guys liked the lemon pepper version better. Both are worth trying. Oh, if you use a pan to catch the drippings make it a high sided one- my cookie sheet made a big mess when I took it off the grill. Low heat on the sides; no heat where the cookie sheet was- 3 hours. YUM

I make this all the time, but go to a Green Egg dealer and purchase a ceramic (stand/beer holder), much better than a can. Chicken comes off easily and you can slide a heavy spatula under the holder to lift from the grill and place on a cutting board to transport from grill to the table. I also cook mine on a Green Egg grill @300 for around 4 hours for a 5 pound chicken. Try rubbing olive oil on the skin and then the rub of your choice. I like to use a cajun rub to add a little spice to the chicken. As a matter of fact, I put a 5 pounder on the grill this morning, (Thanksgiving) and will add some sweet potatos to the grill at 10:00 for our Thanksgiving dinner.

Oh MY GOSH! This was phenomenal! I used boneless skinless chicken breast since we dont ever buy whole chickens. And ended up doing the recipe as follows: 1 c butter 2 Tbsp garlic powder 2 Tbsp paprika 1 - 12 oz can of beer (used the whole thing) 1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast 1.5 tsp italian seasoning .5 tsp onion powder I melted the butter and added all the seasonings and beer to make it into a marinade and then marinated the chicken in the fridge for about 2 1/2 hrs. Took it out and grilled in on medium- high heat. IT WAS SOOOO moist! I kept checking it, and when it was all white i took a bite and almost thought it was not cooked all the way! NOPE! It was COMPLETELY done. I have NEVER had chicken breast so juicy in my LIFE. Just WOW. I know that i havent necessarily a true 5-star based on the recipe as written, but what i did was AMAZING. the only part i will probably do differently next time is use 1.5T garlic salt as it was a little on the salty side. I boiled the marinade while the chicken was cooking and then strained out the solid parts and had an amazing sauce to drizzle on the chicken and polenta. not that it was needed though!

We loved this chicken! I think you really can play with the spices you use. I used garlic, onion powder, cayenne, old bay seasoning, thyme, sage and I didn't use the whole cup of butter(1/2 cup) and it still came out Amazing! I really think it helped the flavor by rubbing the chicken with the spices and letting it marinade overnight. I rubbed the spices underneath the skin and on top of the skin. I cooked the chicken in the oven @ 350 for 1 1/2 hours and put some chicken broth, beer and water in the pan the chicken sat in. The drippings made a wonderful gravy! My husband woke up this morning thinking about the chicken we had for dinner the night before :)

My family loves this using the method of baking in the oven at 350. I have found one little trick which makes it even easier. Open the can of beer with a can opener. Pour out half of the beer. Put in the stick of butter unmelted and paprika and garlic salt. Much easier than trying to pour melted butter, paprika and garlic salt into the small opening at the top of the can.

*TIP: When time to get beer can out, have another person stay can with a knife to hold it in place *Added onion, garlic and some cold butter, along with the seasonings into the beer can. DO NOT ADD hot butter the cold beer. You'll have a mess. I baked mine in the oven, I just knew it was not dry having left it uncovered. It was so juicy. 1 hour in, I rebasted it. I made it as directions except I added (see above) to the beer can). * Make sure you added some liquid too the pan so drippings do not burn.

I don’t usually cook, but wow.

Great, you can really taste the beer 🍺

did not like it at all. I've never cooked anything so dry and ended up throwing it out.

My brother still does this & it's great 👨🏿‍🍳

This is by far the best way to cook a whole chicken for a moist on the inside and crisp on the outside, pull apart easily chicken. You can do it on a grill or in an oven. And FYI Coot226, in the oven is “covered” LOL

Good recipe. A couple of helpful hints. Bring the beer to a boil in a saucepan before inserting into the chicken. It won’t steam if you take it straight from the fridge. Also there are bbq accessories that will lift the chicken above the beer, if the entire can in covered by the chicken it will never steam since the chicken insulating the can won’t allow it to boil

This is the best! The chicken gets so juicy! We had a Father’s Day picnic and made it, everyone loved it! Definitely one of my favorite recipes my husband smokes! Delicious!

The only thing that I changed is that I used my smoker instead of grilling it. Taste great.

I don't know where I went wrong, but this recipe did not turn out as good as I had hoped it would. The chicken tastes kind of bland and there really wasn't any beer flavor. None the less, thanks for the recipe Barrie Tapp!