Greek Yogurt Marinated Beer Can Chicken

Greek yogurt is a perfect marinade for chicken. Not only does it add great flavor, but it tenderizes the meat. The results are delicious.
So in my ongoing quest to find as many different ways to make beer can chicken as possible, I present to you: Greek Yogurt Marinated Beer Can Chicken.

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken
Salt
Pepper

Marinade:

1 cup Greek yogurt
1 tsp each: salt, pepper, oregano
1 tbsp: olive oil, lemon juice

Directions:

1.    Combine all marinade ingredients and stir.
2.    Remove chicken neck and giblets, rinse the chicken inside and out, and pat dry with paper towels.
3.    Coat chicken with marinade, cover and refrigerate overnight.

 
4.    Fill your chimney starter with charcoal and light. Soak some wood chunks or chips.
5.    While your coals are getting hot, drink half a can of beer (soda is fine too).
6.    Set up your grill for indirect cooking, with the coals and wood chunks in a ring along the outer edge of the grill, with the drip pan in the center.

 
7.    Remove chicken from marinade, and wipe off excess. Shove can with remaining beer into the cavity of the chicken, and place on the grill above the drip pan. Use the legs and the can to form a tripod to hold the chicken upright.

(Oh yes, that's right. Mrs. Grill That got me a beer can chicken holder for Christmas. It is awesome. You should get one too: Sur La Table Chicken Roaster (Google Affiliate Ad). Product placement!

8.    Place the lid on the grill. Smoke, covered, for approximately one hour and fifteen minutes. The chicken is ready with the temperature reaches 165 degrees in the breast and 180 degrees in the thigh. Juices should run clear and skin will be nice and crispy.

 
9.    Let chicken rest at least 10-15 minutes before carving.

If you like this recipe, please be sure to click on the links below to share it - and don’t forget to follow @youcangrillthat on Twitter!

Dry Rub BBQ Beer Can Chicken

In my ongoing quest to grill as many different varieties of beer can chicken as possible, I realized that I haven’t really done a classic barbeque dry rub. This recipe is great on its own or with BBQ sauce (like my favorite Dr. Pepper sauce).

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken (about 4.5 pounds)
Approximately one tablespoon vegetable oil
Salt and pepper

Dry rub ingredients (these are all approximate. Add more or less of each to get the flavor you want):

2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon pepper
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion salt
1 teaspoon ground red pepper

Directions:

1.    In a small bowl, mix all dry rub ingredients.
2.    Remove chicken neck and giblets (I try to freeze them to save for stocks). Rinse the chicken inside and out, and pat dry with paper towels.
3.    Coat chicken with vegetable oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Then cover with dry rub.

 
4.    Fill your chimney starter with charcoal and light. Soak some wood chunks or chips.
5.    While your coals are getting hot, drink half a can of beer (soda is fine too).
6.    Set up your grill for indirect cooking, with all of the coals and wood chunks on one side, and a drip pan on the other. Or, place the coals in a ring along the outer edge of the grill, with the drip pan in the center.

 
7.    Shove can with remaining beer into the cavity of the chicken, and place on the grill above the drip pan. Use the legs and the can to form a tripod to hold the chicken upright.

 
8.    Place the lid on the grill. Smoke, covered, for approximately one hour and fifteen minutes. The chicken is ready with the temperature reaches 165 degrees in the breast and 180 degrees in the thigh. Juices should run clear and skin will be nice and crispy.
9.    Let chicken rest at least 10-15 minutes before carving.

If you like this recipe, please be sure to click on the links below to share it - and don’t forget to follow @youcangrillthat on Twitter!

Beer Can Chicken – Asian Style

One of the great things about beer can chicken is that you can take the basic principle – plop a chicken on top of a can, grill it over indirect heat, and get moist, delicious chicken – and add whatever flavors you want. So far, I’ve posted recipes for beer can chicken with Buffalo and Indian flavors (along with a great curry chicken salad recipe for leftovers), and I’m always looking for new themes.

This week, I cooked an Asian-style beer can chicken. I soaked it overnight in a homemade marinade with soy and ginger, then slow-cooked it on the grill. It was (as beer can chicken always is!) very juicy, and it really soaked up the awesome flavor of the marinade.

And, of course, I served it with my grilled fried rice. The timing works out perfectly. Just steam the rice while the chicken is grilling, then fry it over the grill while the chicken rests. Makes a great meal! (Yes, Mom, we got our veggies - started the meal with a side salad.)

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken, about 4.5 pounds

Marinade ingredients:

1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup oil
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey (Tip - Measuring honey is a pain. Just give the bottle a good squeeze for a couple seconds)
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
1 tablespoon ginger
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon lime juice
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon onion salt
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

1.    In a large bowl, mix all marinade ingredients.
2.    Remove chicken neck and giblets (I try to freeze them to save for stocks). Rinse the chicken inside and out, and pat dry with paper towels.
3.    Add chicken to bowl and cover with marinade. Refrigerate overnight.
4.    When you’re ready to grill, fill your chimney starter with charcoal and light. Soak some wood chunks or chips.
5.    While your coals are getting hot, drink half a can of beer (soda is fine too).
6.    Set up your grill for indirect cooking, with all of the coals and wood chunks on one side, and a drip pan on the other.
7.    Shove can with remaining beer into the cavity of the chicken, and place on the grill above the drip pan, opposite the coals. Use the legs and the can to form a tripod to hold the chicken upright, like so:

 
8.    Place the lid on the grill, with holes above the chicken. Smoke, covered, for approximately one hour and fifteen minutes. The chicken is ready with the temperature reaches 165 degrees in the breast and 180 degrees in the thigh. Juices should run clear and skin will be nice and crispy:

9.    Let chicken rest at least 10-15 minutes before carving.

If you like this recipe, please be sure to click on the links below to share it - and don’t forget to follow @youcangrillthat on Twitter!

Curry Chicken Salad (aka, Indian-Style Beer Can Chicken Leftover Edition)

Looking for a way to stretch your leftovers after making an Indian-style beer can chicken? This curry chicken salad is light and healthy but packed with delicious flavor. It’s perfect to pack for lunch or enjoy on a hot summer day.

Ingredients:

2 leftover chicken breasts from Indian-style beer can chicken

2 cups grapes, sliced in half

1 tablespoon lemon juice

6 oz plain Greek yogurt

1 teaspoon curry powder

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1.    Shred chicken breasts.
2.    Combine all ingredients and mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve and enjoy – it’s that easy!

If you like this recipe, please be sure to click on the links below to share it! And don’t forget to follow @youcangrillthat on Twitter!

Beer Can Chicken – Buffalo Style

Love buffalo wings but don’t want to have to eat 20 of something to get full?  Try this recipe, which combines the moist, tender, smoked flavors of beer can chicken with hot buffalo wing sauce and a smooth blue cheese béchamel sauce.

For this recipe, you start with a cayenne pepper-based dry rub, smoke the chicken beer-can-style, and then drizzle it with the two sauces.  Enjoy!

Ingredients (serves 4):

1 whole chicken, abut 4.5-5 pounds
¼ cup vegetable oil
Salt and pepper

Pepper dry rub:

1 tablespoon each of the following: sea salt, black pepper, paprika, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, onion salt, mustard powder
2 tablespoons chili powder
3 tablespoons brown sugar

Buffalo sauce:

1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
½ cup hot sauce (I strongly recommend Frank’s Hot)

Blue Cheese Béchamel:

3 tablespoons butter
¼ cup vegetable oil
½ cup flour
3 cups milk
½ pound blue cheese, crumbled

Directions:

1.    Drink half a can of beer. Boo-yah!
2.    Remove giblets from chicken, rinse inside and out, then pat dry with paper towels.
3.    Brush chicken with olive oil and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.
4.    Combine all dry rub ingredients. Rub generously over chicken.

5.    Set up grill so that charcoal is on one side, along with some wood chips that have been soaked in water, and a drip pan is on the other.
6.    Shove the beer can into the cavity of the chicken.  Place chicken on the grill, and stand it up so that the can and two legs form a tripod.  Tuck the wings into the chicken so they don’t dry out.
7.    Cook the chicken over indirect heat, covered (with the holes in the lid directly above the chicken) for approximately 75 minutes, until it reaches 165 degrees in the breast or 180 degrees in the thigh.  I’d recommend spinning the chicken around about halfway through so that one side doesn’t get to blackened.

 
8.    When the chicken is almost ready, prepare your sauces.  The buffalo sauce is super easy.  Melt the stick of butter, add hot sauce, and stir. Voila!
9.    For the blue cheese sauce: Add the butter and oil to a saucepan and melt butter over medium heat.  Whisk in the flour to form a roux, and whisk briskly for about 2 minutes.  Slowly add  the milk, whisking constantly, and then simmer for 8-10 minutes, whisking occasionally.  Stir in the blue cheese and you’re good to go.
10.    When the chicken is cooked through, remove it from the grill and let it rest – still standing on the can – for 10 minutes before removing the beer can (be careful, it’s still going to be pretty hot) and then carving the chicken.
11.    Serve the chicken, drizzle with the sauces, and enjoy!

If you like this recipe, please be sure to click on the links below to share it! And don’t forget to follow @youcangrillthat on Twitter!