Cassie’s Ruminations

Beer Roasted Chicken

This is one of those classic internet recipes, beer can chicken. It was originally written to use the beer can directly in the chicken cavity and to be cooked on the grill, but there are many modifications out there. This is my version, cooked in the oven. I have a little roasting stand that I got on sale at Sears one year for a couple bucks (sorta like this, but a cheap knock-off 😉 ), so I use that instead of a can. It’s a lot more stable that way. While neither Shaun nor I like to drink beer, we like the subtle flavor that it imparts to the meat in this recipe. We had this with a simple tossed green salad and some russet potatoes that baked at the same time and temperature.

Beer Roasted Chicken
Makes 1 whole chicken, about 6 servings

1 whole chicken, 4-5 pounds
1½ tsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 bottle dark beer (I used New Belgium 1554)
5 cloves garlic, pressed

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Rinse the chicken, removing and discarding the neck and any giblets, and pat dry. Rub the skin all over with the salt and pepper. Pour most of the beer into the chicken roaster stand. If you like beer, drink the rest. Add the garlic to the beer. Place the chicken, legs pointing down, over the roaster so that it’s standing vertically, supported by the center of the roaster.

Bake for 1½ -2 hours or until the internal temperature taken in the center of a thigh is 175 degrees F. Remove from the oven, use tongs to take the chicken off the roaster and onto a platter, and let rest for 10 minutes before carving and serving.