Friday, June 8, 2012

June 8, 2012

After Hannah picked such a delicious and successful meal last week, Owen wanted a turn.  So he began flipping through the same cookbook that she found her recipe in and he came across Grilled Beer Can Chicken.  He proudly walked the recipe over to Ryan and I and asked if we could make it.  Of course!

We'd made beer can chicken before, but not with a spice rub.  In the past we'd simply put a chicken on a nearly full can of beer and grilled it.  This particular recipe from Cook's Illustrated called for a spice rub and the addition of bay leaves to the beer.  I must admit - it was very tasty!  Good job picking this one out, Owen!  It's a keeper!

With school having let out earlier this week, we haven't been too adventurous in the kitchen yet.  So far we've just been enjoying the schedule-free days and enjoying the beautiful stretch of weather we've been fortunate to have.   But, perhaps this coming week we'll try out a few new things.

Happy Cooking!

New Recipe
Grilled Beer Can Chicken

Grilled Beer Can Chicken (for gas grill)


Ingredients for Spice Rub
* 1/2 cup paprika
* 2 tbsp kosher salt
* 2 tbsp garlic powder
* 1 tbsp dried thyme
* 2 tsp ground celery seed
* 2 tsp pepper
* 2 tsp cayenne pepper

Directions for Spice Rub
Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.
This mix will keep in an airtight container for up to 3 months.

Ingredients for Grill Roasted Beer Can Chicken
* 12 oz can of beer (your choice of flavor/brand)
* 2 bay leaves
* 1 whole chicken (3.5 to 4.5 lbs)
* 3 tbsp of the spice rub

Directions for Grill Roasted Beer Can Chicken
1. Open the beer, and drink (our pour out) a few ounces.  Leave yourself with 8 -10 ounces of beer in the can.
2. Punch 2 additional holes in the top of the beer can, giving the can a total of three holes.
3. Crumble the bay leaves and add them to the beer.
4. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels, and run it with the spice rub both on top of and under the skin.
5. After applying the rub to the chicken, poke the chicken  with holes using a skewer or sharp fork.
6. Slide the chicken onto the beer can so that the chicken is now standing upright.
7. Preheat your grill for about 15 minutes.  You should keep your grill at about 325 F.
8. Clean and oil the cooking grate of your gas grill, and place the chicken (on the can) in the center of the grill.  Cover the grill and cook for 1 to 1.5 hours.  The chicken breast should register 160 F, and the thighs should register 175 F.
9. Remove from grill, tent with foil and let the chicken rest for 15 minutes.
10.  Lift chicken off the can, carve the bird and serve.  Enjoy!

Notes
I am sure you can do this on a charcoal grill as well, but we did it on our gas grill.  What a moist, juicy, and flavorful chicken this was!  We all enjoyed it, and we used the leftovers in quesadillas later in the week.  The spice rub creates quite a bit, so you might want to cut the recipe in half to begin with; you will still have more than the 3 tablespoons you need for this meal.