Yes. Yes, I did.

I was recently wasting time on facebook (shocking, I know) when I came across a status about "beer can chicken."  Immediately I was intrigued.  Chicken is good and beer is better, so when combined they must make something worthy enough to try.  Upon further investigation I learned that the concept is really quite simple - shove a beer up a whole chicken's nether-regions, roast (or grill) it, and enjoy a chicken that is crispy on the outside and moist on the inside.  After sharing my excitement about this novel idea with several people, I learned that not only is it more common than I thought, but that both Williams and Sonoma AND Wal-Mart sell tools that aid in the process.  And of course, if Wal-Mart knows about it, then the rest of the world must as well.  I guess I have been living under a rock.

I nonetheless decided to give it a try.  I put all of the ingredients in on my weekly grocery list, bought my chicken and a case a beer (unfortunately my local market only sells cases of non-chilled beer, bummer), and was ready to go.  As I preheated the oven, I realized that this would be the first time that I was ever going to tackle a whole chicken.  It was somewhat daunting, but I knew that it was a now or never situation.  After rinsing the bird, patting it dry, and rubbing it down with oil and spices, I became fearful that the chicken wouldn't fit on the can.  Since I was only cooking for 2, I had purchased a bird no larger than 3 1/2 pounds, and had not taken into account the fact that it would need to be stuff with a regular, 12oz can.  I cracked open a beer, drank about a third (as per instructions, naturally) and contemplated how I was actually going to go about this.  Long story short, I rigged the whole thing up after a little bit of stretching, and popped it in the over. 

All in all, it was a fairly easy process, and turned out with great results.  Moist on the inside, crispy on the outside, just as promised.


Beer Butt Chicken (adapted from this recipe)


Mmmmm.


3-5 lb chicken
1 beer (I used Bud Light)
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
Onion Power

Rinse and pat the chicken (removing and discarding any extra surprises inside).  Open the beer, empty (or drink) about 1/3 of it, and punch addition holes in the top for extra ventilation.  Rub the entire chicken with olive oil, sprinkle with the remain spices, and prop onto the beer can.  Tuck the wings into the chicken and cover with aluminium foil.  Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour, remove the foil, and bake for 45 more minutes or until done.

Note: The most difficult part of the recipe is removing the cooked chicken from the hot beer can.  I used several paper towels and had Frank hold the can in place as I carefully lifted the chicken up.  The leftover meat made excellent chicken salad.