You’ve probably heard of putting a chicken on a top of a can of beer on a barbecue. Did you know that you could make Oven Beer Can Chicken? That’s right, no having to go outside in the sweltering sun or freezing snow, just roast in your oven.
I remember when Beer Can Chicken was a craze back in the day and it was damned delicious. The chicken was infused with the beer flavor while it cooked on the barbecue grill. It also turned out moist. Sure, you are wasting a perfectly good beverage, but the sacrifice is worth every drop.
Oven Beer Can Chicken
Enter the oven. Sometimes, you don’t have access to a barbecue, whether because of a state ordinance or because of inclement weather. No worries, you can do this in your oven and I’m going to tell you how.
Please note that you need a standard-sized oven to do this. You cannot do this recipe in a toaster oven. The oven has to be big enough to fit a chicken on top of a can of beer.
Use the kind of beer you like. This must be done with a can, not a bottle. You don’t want any glass hazards in your oven or your chicken. Be careful that the can will fit in the holder. A standard 12-oz or 16-oz will fit nicely. If you use the 16-oz, note that you will not have quite as much clearance so the oven rack must be put on the lowest rung.
I used a *GraniteWare roaster because I was confident that it would hold the drippings, would be easy to clean, and if anything untoward happened, would be large enough should the bird fall. It’s a great roaster for Roast Chicken.
Removing the Chicken From the Stand
I’m not going to lie to you. When you take the chicken out of the oven, it’s intimidating to think of ways to get the chicken off the stand without burning yourself. Use kitchen tongs and slip the tong into the top part of the chicken where the hole for the neck is. Grip it firmly and pull it up carefully. You can use a spatula to help you move it to a cutting board for carving. See? Easy Peasy!
Email Me the Recipe
Oven Beer Can Chicken
Equipment
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Ingredients
- 5 pounds Chicken
- 10 ounces Beer
Rub
- 2 tablespoon *olive oil
- 1 tablespoon Northwoods Seasoning
- 1 teaspoon Herbs de Provence
- 1 teaspoon *Poultry Seasoning, Freeze-dried preferred
- ½ teaspoon salt, Kosher or sea salt preferred
Instructions
- Mise en Place
Make the Rub
- 2 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon Northwoods Seasoning, 1 teaspoon Herbs de Provence, 1 teaspoon Poultry Seasoning, 1/2 teaspoon saltCombine the olive oil, Northwoods Seasoning, Herbs de Provence, poultry seasoning, and salt in a small bowl.
Prepare the Oven
- Put the holder in a roasting pan.
- Put the beer in the holder, unopened.
- Put the chicken on top of the beer.
- Remove the second rack from your oven and put the chicken and roaster in the oven. Make sure it fits and it isn't touching the top of the oven.
- Remove everything from the oven.
- 5 pounds Chicken, 10 ounces BeerRemove the chicken from the roaster and open the can of beer.
- Put the chicken back over the beer.
- Using a pastry brush, paint the chicken with the rub you made earlier.
- Roast at 350℉ / 176℃ for about 90 minutes or until the thickest part of the thigh reads 165℉ / 73℃ on an *instant-read thermometer.
- Remove it from the oven and let it rest for about 10 minutes.
- To remove the chicken from the stand, use a pair of tongs and grab the inside of the neck with one hand, steadying the chicken with the other and pull the chicken up.
- Lay the chicken on a cutting board to carve.
- Enjoy it with a cold beer. Please don't try to drink the hot one!
Beer 🍻. One for me. One for the chicken. One for me… 🍺
I wanted to make this, and I didn’t want to have to go to the store to get beer, but I had a can of 7-Up and used that instead. I brushed the outside with lemon pepper and butter. It was delicious! Thanks for posting this method.
My kids wondered why I was putting a can of beer in the oven. We had this with brussels sprouts (my kids love them). Everyone loved it! Cheers!