Written by: Roscoe |  Print this post and share it with your buddies!

Let’s face it, next to the beer bottle, the beer can is one of the world’s great inventions. But up until now, there’s been only one use for it. Well, two, actually: to store beer and to drink out of. But imagine this: along came some enterprising beer drinker -had to be- who found another use for the beer can. And a good one it is: COOK A CHICKEN ON IT!

That’s right, pop open a can of beer -go ahead, drink some of it first- stuff the neck end of a chicken onto it, and put it in the oven (or on the grill). Pretty simple, right? Well, actually, it is. that’s really all you have to do. There are, however, some variations that the Cookin’ With Roscoe test kitchens have discovered in our ongoing quest to find ways to make our food taste better. It’s only right that we share.

GET THE RACK
It’s called a ChickCan Rack (yeah, cute, what are you gonna do, that’s marketing for you). It’s a stainless steel stand to put your beer can in to stabilize the chicken as it cooks. It costs about three bucks, and it’s worth it. Get it in almost any hardware store or supermarket.

YOU’RE JUST ROASTING
Roasting is the easiest way to cook a chicken. Pop it in the oven, let it cook till it’s done. The problem is, roasted chicken is usually pretty boring and fairly tasteless unless you do things to the chicken first. And some of the things we do to that chicken would make it feel pretty good -like massaging oil all over its body- if it weren?t already dead. Now those things will only make it taste better. Not so good for the chicken, real good for us.

THE RUB
Wet AND dry. Put some good olive oil in a cup, add some Worcesteshire, Cholula, soy or teriyaki, or anything else you like…chili sauce, garlic, barbeque sauce, etc. …rub it all over the chicken, inside nd out. Then mix up a bunch of dry ingredients, again, whatever you like, just make sure it includes salt, pepper, and a variety of things that will zing it a little, like cayenne, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, etc. Pour that over the chicken and rub it in. Get it in all the nooks and crannies between the wings and the legs, don’t forget the inside. It’s easier and a lot less messy if you do all this in a roasting pan, which you’ll use to set under the chicken while it cooks anyway (if you’re doing just one chicken you can use a pie pan or a smaller glass pan, line it with foil for easier cleanup). Stick a full bulb of garlic in the butt end of the chicken (that’ll be the top as it sits on the beer can) to seal in the vapors. You can pull it out when the chicken’s done and you’ll have delicious roasted garlic for the rest of the week.

DON’T FEEL GUILTY ABOUT THAT BEER
It can be difficult, and might seem like a waste of good beer, to just put it in the oven, stuck in a chicken. But remember, you drank part of that can, and it really is going to put some good flavor into that chicken. it’s going for a good cause. Beer is nothing if not noble. Use the rest of the case -we assume you bought more than just the beer for the chicken- to drink up and come to terms with the sacrifice. Remember, the chicken will roast for probably a couple of hours, so you’ll have plenty of time for this, as long as you have plenty of beer. By the time the chicken’s done, you’ll be fine.

OVEN OR GRILL, IT DOESN’T MATTER
350 degrees in the oven for two hours. You don’t need a thermometer, it’ll be crisp and juicy. If you’re cooking it on the grill (closed, with the top rack removed to give the chicken room), it’ll take around an hour and a half, because the grill will be hotter. When the skin is all brown and crispy, it’s ready.

THAT BEER CAN IS HOT
Use an oven mitt and tongs to get the chicken off the can and rack, then…

LET IT REST
If you’ve got that much will power. You’ll probably want to test those wings (the best part of any chicken), so don’t feel guilty about that, either (the beer has probably taken care of that anyway). Once you’ve tested the wings, the bird will have cooled enough to carve. Be sure your knife is sharp.