Eli Shayotovich rolls out the barbecue, and introduces a chicken to a can of Oskar Blues Pale Ale.
Text And Photo By Eli Shayotovich
Regardless if it is winter or summer it’s always time to start thinking about firing up the barbeque and enjoying some beers out on the deck. And why not take that old Beer Can Chicken recipe and kick it up a notch?
Beer Can Chicken Tacos
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
This great barbecue recipe introduces a chicken to a can of beer.
Ingredients
Scale
For The Chicken
- One 4 – 5 pound (1.81 – 2.27 kg) whole chicken
- Olive Oil
- 1 can Oskar Blues Pale Ale (or any pale ale style craft beer that you can find in a can)
- 3 teaspoons (15 grams) sea salt
- 1 1/2 (7.5 grams) teaspoons fresh black pepper
- 1 teaspoon (5 grams) cumin
- 1 teaspoon (5 grams) garlic powder
- 1 very large or 2 medium Vidalia onions
- 3 whole Jalapenos
- More salt, pepper and olive oil to season peppers and onions
- Flour or corn tortillas (whichever you prefer)
For The Pico De Gallo
- 6 Roma Tomatoes (diced)
- 1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
- 1 Serrano chili (chopped fine)
- 1/2 cup (113.4 grams) finely chopped red onion
- 1/4 cup (56.7 grams) finely chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 teaspoon (5 grams) Montreal spicy steak seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 grams) ground cumin
- Juice from 1 – 2 limes (depending how juicy they are)
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) San Luis Brewing Valle Especial beer (or any good Mexican-style lager you can find)
- Salt to taste
Instructions
For The Chicken
- Preheat grill to medium high heat.
- Rinse chicken well and pat dry with paper towels. Combine all seasonings together in a small bowl. Rub chicken generously with olive oil inside and out. Gently lift the skin on breast and rub oil under it as well. Sprinkle seasonings inside, under skin, and outside of bird.
- Slice jalapenos in half (remove seeds if you don’t like it spicy). Slice onion into at least 1/4 inch thick slices. Drizzle both with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place on grill and cook for about 10 minutes until soft and charred. Remove and cover with foil.
- Open the can and drink half the contents. Throwing it away is a crime in some countries. Once consumed remove the entire lid of the can with a can opener.
- Place can into a BBQ can holder (you need one of these) and onto the BBQ. Place seasoned bird over can. Close the lid and cook for approximately 1 hour 15 minutes (or until done). During the cooking process rotate the bird a few times for even color.
- Once done, remove and place on platter. Cover bird with a foil tent for approximately 15 minutes. While chicken is resting:
- Chop up the previously BBQ’d grilled onions and peppers.
- Grill the tortillas and keep warm.
- Remove bird from beer can while keeping the remaining liquid in the can.
- Shred all meat and place in large bowl or platter. Pour remaining beer over meat. Add the chopped onions and peppers to the meat mixture. Mix well and scoop into warmed tortillas.
- Top with Beer Pico de Gallo or add your favorite garnish.
For The Pico De Gallo
- Mix all ingredients above.
- Chill at least 1 hour for flavors to incorporate.
- Serve with Beer Can Chicken Tacos or as a dip with chips.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hour 40 mins
O this looks so good and I think the idea of using the beercan that way is brilliant! Can’t wait to try it out as soon as it warms up a bit more here!
I’ve always wanted to try beer can chicken. I love instruction #4.
This recipe looks really good. I am going to make it this summer. I think this should do well on my primo smoker/grill.
Beer can chicken is kind of like frying a turkey: once you try it, you’ll never want to go back to making it the old way! The moisture added by the beer into the chicken… yahtzee! ;)
A lot of craft brewers are going back to cans (an article about this will be posted here soon), so it’s getting easier and easier to actually find great beer in cans.
When you get around to making it let me know what you think!
Cheers!
I’ve made beer can chicken a hundred times. Well, not actually a hundred, but you get the idea. I’ve never used a BBQ can holder but I also don’t cut the whole top of the can off either…maybe that gives the can more structural integrity. Anyhow, I just prop the thing up on the barbecue with the legs and beer can acting as the three points of the tripod. The thing looks a little goofy sitting there like that.
Can’t wait to use this recipe. Delish.
Hey Ms.V… just propping that bad boy up works too! I don’t like to worry about the chicken falling over (which it would if I tried it w/o the can stand), so I always go with some assistance. ;)
I love beer can chicken! It’s one of my favorite things of summer/spring! Can’t wait to try these tacos out! =)
I make beer can chicken weekly. It’s that good! I always brine mine for an hour first. It’s way more moist that way!