This is our first season with our new (to us) propane grill, and it has been so much fun for me to experiment with grilling recipes. Our charcoal grill is too much work to light, wait for it to come to temperature, and then cook recipes on, like this Grilled Beer Can Chicken recipe.
It takes a while. A long while.
This recipe calls for a 5.5 pound chicken, and that takes 2 to 2.5 hours to cook through. And if you want a crispy skin on the outside, you’ll want to add an extra 30 minutes. So to have to wait for the grill to come to temperature before that, you need to start the grill after lunch to have this beer can chicken ready for dinner.
You can make it on a charcoal grill, of course, but we suggest using a propane grill and this recipe is written with a propane grill in mind.
Grilled Beer Can Chicken Recipe
Grilled Beer Can Chicken Ingredients:
- 5.5 pound whole chicken
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon pepper seasoning
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 12 oz. can beer
- 4 springs fresh thyme
How To Make Grilled Beer Can Chicken:
Turn on one side of your propane grill and heat the grill to to 350 F (if it runs a little hotter, that’s okay, but if it runs cooler, you need to raise the temperature).
Check the inside of your chicken for a bag of gizzards. Remove those if they’re there.
Mix together the lemon pepper seasoning and salt.
Rinse the whole chicken under cold water, then pat it dry with paper towels.
Drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil and half the seasoning on one side of the chicken. Gently massage the seasoning into the skin of the chicken.
Flip the chicken over. Drizzle the olive oil and the rest of the seasoning on the other side and massage it into the skin.
Let the chicken rest until the propane grill comes to temperature.
Open a can of beer and pour out (or drink, if you’re 21 or over) half of the can.
Add the fresh thyme into the beer can.
Put the beer can into a beer can chicken rack and set that rack on top of a baking pan.
Fit the chicken over the beer can chicken rack.
If this is your first time cooking a whole chicken, be sure to identify the rear of the chicken and its neck. You want to make sure you’re putting the rear of the chicken over the beer can chicken rack, not the neck.
Put the whole baking pan on the grill, on the side that’s not heated.
Close the grill’s lid and leave it closed for an hour. After an hour, rotate the baking pan 180 degrees so that the opposite side of the chicken is facing the heat.
Check the temperature of the chicken after 90 minutes, if it’s a smaller chicken (around 4 pounds).
When the temperature of the chicken has reached 165 F, remove the chicken from the grill. Allow it to sit 15 minutes before carving.
Grilled Beer Can Chicken: Frequently Asked Questions
No.
If this is your first time cooking a whole chicken, keep in mind that not all whole chickens are sold with a bag of gizzards inside. If you look inside the “cavity” of the chicken and there’s no bag inside, that’s okay. Don’t go searching up in there for one.
If there is one there, just gently tug on the bag to remove it. You don’t want to cook the chicken with the bag inside.
The type of beer in grilled beer can chicken doesn’t really matter. We always use a light lager when we’re cooking with beer, just because it imparts a nice, light flavor into the recipes.
A hoppy beer will impart that flavoring into the chicken, and that might be too powerful for some pallets.
But really, whatever beer you have on hand will work. As long as it’s in a can. You don’t want to use a glass bottle on the grill.
Whole chicken should be grilled for about 20 to 25 minutes per pound. A three pound chicken will take a minimum of one hour over indirect heat, if your temperature stays consistent around 350 F.
Keep in mind that opening the grill to check the temperature of the chicken cools the temperature of the grill and it will take time to get back to your optimal temperature. Those fluctuations will change the cooing time.
Beer can chicken is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 165 F.
When you’re checking the temperature, be sure to stick the meat thermometer into one piece of dark meat and one piece of white meat.
Avoid the bone when you’re sticking the meat thermometer in the chicken. It will be a different temperature than the chicken itself.
Be sure to avoid sticking the meat thermometer too deep and hitting the beer can chicken holder also.
Once the chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165 F, keep it on the grill for an additional 15 minutes until the skin starts to crisp. After 15 minutes, rotate the chicken 180 degrees and allow the other side to crisp for 15 minutes.
Keep in mind that you run the risk of over cooking the chicken while you’re trying to go for crispy skin. Personally, we don’t crisp the skin because we prefer juicy beer can chicken.
In theory, sure, you can grill beer can chicken directly on the grill. But there will be a lot of drippings and you can potentially make a big mess. We prefer to grill beer can chicken on a baking pan because all the drippings collect in the baking pan and it’s easy clean up.
If you’re really set on grilling the beer can chicken directly on the grill, we recommend putting a baking pan under the grates where the chicken will be so you can catch all the drippings there.
What side dishes go with Grilled Beer Can Chicken?
Baked Potatoes On The Grill are the perfect side dish for grilled beer can chicken. You can time them perfectly too. After the chicken has cooked for an hour and you’re opening the grill, stick the potatoes on the direct heat portion of the grill. The potatoes will be ready when the chicken is.
If you have a smaller chicken and you’re worried about timing it right, you can always make air fryer baked potatoes instead.
Grilled asparagus is a great side dish for grilled beer can chicken. You can grill it at the same time as the chicken. Just be sure to time it right so you don’t overcook it. If you’re worried, you can make oven-roasted asparagus instead.
Is Grilled Beer Can Chicken Weight Watchers friendly?
According to me, beer can chicken is Weight Watchers friendly. That is up to interpretation, though.
Chicken is free on the WW Freestyle Plan. So are spices. One tablespoon of olive oil is 4 WW Freestyle points. You’re using 2 tablespoons, so that’s 8 points. But, we consider this to be 8 servings, so that’s one point per serving.
If you’re drinking beer, that can be a lot of WW points. But since this is just steaming and adding flavor (and much of the beer is left behind and what isn’t is evaporated, not in the chicken), we aren’t counting it as points. You may be a little more strict on your points and may want to count it. That’s up to you.
But for us, we are considering this 1 WW Freestyle Point per serving. Be sure to add the ingredients into your WW app or calculator before adding the points to your day, especially if you are following the myWW Blue, Green, or Purple plans.
Is Beer Can Chicken Keto friendly?
Chicken is keto-friendly, as are the spices. You’ll need to check your olive oil before determining if its keto friendly.
And, as we said above, the beer steams and evaporates, so I wouldn’t count the carbs in the beer when you’re counting the carbs for this recipe.
If you’re asking our opinion, we say yes, beer can chicken is keto friendly, but you have to determine what you think about the beer and oil.
Want more recipes using beer?
Beer is great to use in recipes. In bread, it is the yeast, so you don’t have to add yeast. With pork, it acts as a marinade to break down the pork and make it tender.
The alcohol in beer cooks out while it’s cooking, so recipes using beer are okay for people under 21 to consume.
Our favorite recipes using beer are:
Grilled Beer Can Chicken
If you're looking for a recipe to feed a crowd this summer, go with Grilled Beer Can Chicken. It's a crowd pleaser, and it's pretty much a set it and forget it recipe.
Ingredients
- 5.5 pound whole chicken
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon pepper seasoning
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 12 oz. can beer
- 4 springs fresh thyme
Instructions
- Turn on one side of your propane grill and heat the grill to to 350 F.
- Check the inside of your chicken for a bag of gizzards. Remove those if they’re there.
- Mix together the lemon pepper seasoning and salt.
- Rinse the whole chicken under cold water, then pat it dry with paper towels.
- Drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil and half the seasoning on one side of the chicken. Gently massage the seasoning into the skin of the chicken. Flip the chicken over. Drizzle the olive oil and the rest of the seasoning on the other side and massage it into the skin. Let the chicken rest until the propane grill comes to temperature.
- Open a can of beer and pour out (or drink, if you’re 21 or over) half of the can. Add the fresh thyme into the beer can. Put the beer can into a beer can chicken rack and set that rack on top of a baking pan. Fit the chicken over the beer can chicken rack.
- Put the whole baking pan on the grill, on the side that’s not heated. Close the grill’s lid and leave it closed for an hour.
- After an hour, rotate the baking pan 180 degrees so that the opposite side of the chicken is facing the heat. Check the temperature of the chicken after 90 minutes, if it’s a smaller chicken (around 4 pounds). When the temperature of the chicken has reached 165 F, remove the chicken from the grill. Allow it to sit 15 minutes before carving.
Nutrition Information
Yield
8Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 796Total Fat 46gSaturated Fat 12gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 29gCholesterol 274mgSodium 1387mgCarbohydrates 2gFiber 0gSugar 0gProtein 85g
Have you made this Grilled Beer Can Chicken?