Beer Can Chicken on the Grill

My husband and I first made beer can chicken shortly after we were married.  For whatever reason, we weren't impressed. We had bought one of those metal devices you can use to put the beer can in and balance the chicken.  Fast forward seven years and we're spending a summer night cleaning out our garage (and making two trips with a packed mini-van to Goodwill!) and I find the beer can chicken gadget. I decided that we should give beer can chicken another go.

This time we make the chicken, we live in the desert and it's hot, hot, hot outside. I love using the grill every chance we can get and roasting a chicken outside is perfect for our current lifestyle.  This time, I fall in love with the chicken. The skin is perfectly crisp and the meat is perfectly moist inside.  Our family inhaled a 4 pound bird. We grilled our chicken on a round baking sheet, just for ease of moving the bird in and out of the house.

I saw a website call this "Coq Au Can" - and that's my new name for it!

Beer Can Chicken on the Grill (or Grilled Coq Au Can)
1 3-4 pound chicken
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper
Paprika
Italian Spices
Seasoned Salt
1 can of beer, root beer, soda, whatever you want

Remove innards and neck from chicken.  Pat dry.

Prepare rub (this is my husband's "home rub"): mix together salt, pepper, paprika, Italian spice mix, and seasoned salt in a small bowl. Use as much as you like for each flavor, about equal amounts, but watch the salt!

Pour out half the liquid from your can.  Set can inside metal holder, if you have one.  Otherwise, put chicken over can and place on a baking sheet.  Rub chicken all over with olive oil, then rub on the spice mixture.

Turn on the heat on only one side of your grill and allow grill to warm up.  Place chicken on the OTHER SIDE of the grill (cook it off heat). Close the top and walk away.  Half-way through your cooking time (around 30 minutes) rotate the chicken 180 degrees so that the sides of chicken are evenly crisped.

We cooked our chicken with the grill on high heat and it was done in under an hour. I would suggest using a lower cooking temp, but it's not necessary. Just rotate the chicken so all sides are evenly browned. Use a meat thermometer to determine doneness by inserting the thermometer in to the thigh area. Chicken is done at 180 degrees.