Culinary Dictionary Index Beer Butt Chicken Recipe

Beer Butt Chicken Recipe

Yield: 4 generous servings

Ingredients:

1. 1 (3 1/2 to 4 pounds) whole chicken
2. 1 (12-ounce or 16-ounce) can beer (cut off top with a can opener)*
3. 1 cup butter or olive oil
4. 2 tablespoons garlic salt or 4 to 5 cloves garlic, crushed
5. 2 tablespoons paprika
6. Pinch cayenne pepper or to taste
7. Fresh or dried herbs of your choice
8. Coarse salt and freshly-ground black pepper to taste

* Fruit juice, soda (not diet) or wine can be used in place of beer, but beer is the tastiest option (the beer vaporizes and soaks into the meat making it very moist and very tasty).

Instructions:

• Preheat barbecue grill (spray grill with vegetable-oil cooking spray). Drink (or pour out) 1/4 of the beer from the can.
• In a small saucepan over low heat, melt butter or heat olive oil. Mix in garlic salt, paprika, cayenne pepper, herbs, salt, and pepper; set aside. NOTE: You can substitute any favorite chicken rub.
• Cut off all the fat from the body and neck openings as you want the cavity free and clear; remove the giblets and discard. Rub the inside and outside of the chicken with butter/seasoning mixture (this seals the chicken and also ensures that the skin will be brown and crispy when done).
• Slide the top of the beer can deep inside the chicken cavity (the bottom end). Lightly oil the exterior of the can with salad oil. If the opening is especially wide, a carrot or slice of potato can be slid in beside the can to seal off the cavity. Push until the can is almost fully inside the bird. The bottom of the can and the two legs bent slightly downward form a tripod which keeps the chicken upright on the grill.