Beer Can Chicken

Hello, I'm all buuubbly inside...

Years ago I watched an interview with Matthew Mcconaughey about...well...I'm not sure what except he did lots of leaning back, lots of lazy smiles, lots of Southern drawl...sigh...

Anyway, at some point he started talkin' about Beer Butt Chicken. I can remember the one sentence clearly "The beer gets aaallll buuubbly inside...mmmm..." That's it - I was in love and would never forget about how sexy he just made chicken preparation sound. The way he pronounced the word "bubbly" has stuck with me all this time.

Time passed and I never got around to making this chicken until last month's issue of Country Living came out with a recipe for Champagne Can Chicken. I was back on track and followed their recipe using the beer that Matthew talked about. You should try it, it's my new go-to for roast chicken:

Beer Can Chicken

(adapted from Country Living)

2 T. herbes de Provence

1 whole chicken (6-7 lbs)

1 1/2 T. butter

1 can of beer

2 cups chicken broth

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F with a rack set in lower third of oven. In a small dish, combine herbes de Provence, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 3/4 teaspoon pepper. Set aside.

Remove neck and giblets from chicken; set neck aside and discard giblets. Rinse chicken inside and out, then pat dry with paper towels. Rub chicken cavity and skin with butter, then rub cavity with reserved herb mixture. Tuck wing tips under bird and set chicken aside.


Open beer and stand can in center of a medium roasting pan and place chicken's cavity over can so that the bird sits upright in pan. Place neck in pan.

Roast chicken, basting every 20 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer reaches 167 degrees F when inserted into thickest part of thigh, about 1 1/2 hours. Keeping chicken and can upright, remove both from pan. Carefully remove and discard hot can. Transfer chicken to a cutting board and let rest for 15 minutes before carving.

Meanwhile, pour pan drippings into a fat separator, or alternatively skim, and discard fat. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine defatted drippings, neck, and chicken broth and bring to a boil. Continue boiling until liquid is reduced to 2 cups, about 20 minutes. Strain jus, discarding neck bone. Serve chicken with jus on the side.

So, try it out and tell me what you think. I'm off the daydream about Matthew for a bit...