Tortured Chicken – Beer Can

“This chicken really rocks.It was the name that prompted me to check out the recipe, but it’s the way it tasted that’s going to have me making this again and again.I was a little wary of the salt content (1 serving has 395% of the USRDA!) so I cut back on the salt, added some garlic and ground ginger instead.We’re also not beer drinkers, I can’t take the smell of it myself, so I used half a can of Coke instead.The chicken was delicious, the kids were fighting over the skin, and this recipe makes you wish a chicken had more than 2 legs as well.The skin came out crispy, the meat was moist, and there was nothing left for the poor dog!”

“I must admit I was a bit skeptical about the amounts in the ingredients, but decided to give it a go. The worse that could happen is that I would not like it, but I could always remove the skin. Well, my husband (not knowing how recipes are rated) said, “Honey, you get 5 stars with this meal”. It was delicious!!! But, I can’t imagine using all the seasoning for a 2-2 1/2 lb chicken. I made a 5 1/2 lb chicken and was “extremely” generous with the seasoning (used it all). I found it difficult to remove the can before serving so I served it intact. I served it with Sweet Onions (a recipe that I just posted here today) and roasted asparagus (with garlic, red, yellow and green peppers) which I am about to post.UPDATE: Made this for the second time.I cut the rub recipe in half and still didn’t use it all.Had plenty left over.The top of the chicken and the wings were burnt black (both times).Really to burnt to eat.The next time I make this recipe I will definately cover them with chef’s foil once they have browned.I wonder if anyone else has had this happen.I have a convection oven & cooking temperatures are always lower by, at least, 25 degrees.”

“This was SO good. Tasty, juicy, terrific. I made half the rub and still had half left over, and I WAS generous.I can’t see why you couldn’t massage this into wings, and bake them on a rack over a baking dish of beer in the oven or BBQ for yummy finger food.A bit hard to extract the hot beer can but well worth it!”

“I have been wanting to try this for a long time. Made this for the Zaar Cookathon/4th of July cookout. Oh Yeah!! Outstanding. The meat was sooooo incredibly moist and tender. I made 4 of these because I was cooking for a large crowd. I doubled the rub amount and had more than enough. The rub gave a wonderful flavor. Left the beer cans in place because like others, I had a hard time removing them. Thanks for a great recipe.”

“Excellent recipe and rub, then a treat to see a chef prepare your “tortured chicken” on the Today Show, 5/25/02. Among other variations, like using coke or lemonade, he displayed Beijing Chicken, Root Beer Game Hens, Duckling À L’ORANGE and Beer Can Turkey. Get all the recipes from the website at: https://www.msnbc.com/news/757006.aspEnjoy – I certainly did!”

“this is a very good recipe and i will definitely make this recipe again. next time i will cut back on the salt because even though i am a salt fanatic this was too salty for me. i also suggest that you use a foil-lined pan because it gets very messy. i was very generous with the rub on my 2 1/2 pound chicken and had enough rub left over for probably 3 more chickens. i do recommend loosely tenting the top of the chicken with foil because it can get quite dark. thank you for sharing the recipe.”

“The chicken was very juicy, I will make it again.My chicken was about 5 pounds and I felt that the rub was way too salty for me.I will reduce the salt next time and use about half of the rub.”

“I’ve wanted to make this for awhile because I love the name, had lots of the rub left and I too was generous with it. We all liked the ‘barbecued’ flavour and the chicken was very tender.Took about 1 hour and 15 minutes to cook through.”

“I did this recently on a gas BBQ (light only one side, and cook the chicken on the UNlit side).I also threw some of the rub into the half can of beer.What’s good about this recipe is that you can change the rub for a whole nother flavor, perhaps Indian spices, for example.When I did mine I also put some mesquite chips that I’d soaked in water for a while in a foil packet, poked some holes in it, put it right on the briquettes, and closed the BBQ for an hour.The most terrific thing about this recipe is how moist the chicken turns out.”

“My family had as much fun watching these chickens cook as they did eating it.My oven has a window and light.I put them in the oven when no one was around and the kitchen light was off.My husband, a photographer, found them iiluminated in the kitchen oven and started photographing them.He developed the pictures before everyone arrived and we all got a kick out of how the chickens looked in the oven (I made 2).Well they tasted as great as they looked and the consensus was that they were finger licking good.My family doesn’t usually like the skin on the chicken, but this was too good to pass up.I did encounter one problem and that was that one chicken fell over halfway through and it wasn’t so easy to get him upright again.”

“I served this at our July 4th party. First of all, a big conversation piece. I cooked 2 whole chickens and had more than enough rub. The meat was so tender and juicy and we like salt sowe thought the seasoning was perfect. I too had difficulty removing the beer cans so we just left them in. Thanks Debra.”

“I tried this tonight with Dr. Pepper instead of beer (a friend left a couple here and it was all I had) and dropped the amount of salt (added some garlic powder to make of the qty difference for the salt). It turned out quite juicy.I do have to tell you however that it was starting to blacken so I had to top for the last 15-20 minutes with foil.Thank!”

“I didn’t have everything I needed to actually do the chicken, but I did make the rub and put it on a pork shoulder which I then grilled.Absolutely awesome.Can’t wait to go get some chickens and beer and go the whole nine.”

“Not a beer lover as a general rule, I was a bit hesitant to try this recipe, but there is now a 6 pack sitting in my fridge just waiting for the next chicken!Using a 5 lb. chicken, I cut back a bit on the salt & added some garlic powder to the spice mixture.I placed a 1/2 full can of beer in the center of a rack that goes up the bird’s tush so that the bird was supported by both the beer can & the rack.The chicken cooked until the internal temp read 180 degrees F.The chicken was ultra moist, did not have the slightest taste of beer & when a piece of meat was combined with the spicy, crispy skin, the taste was out of this world.This recipe has now become a weekly staple.Thanks for sharing Debra.”

“My family was very impresse with this meal. The rub is outstanding. I cut the recipe in half and still had enough leftover to use on plain chicken breasts. I placed the rub under the skin on both sides of the chicken, outside, and inside the cavity. The trick to keeping this chicken moist and not burnt is to make sure it is 8″ from the top of your oven or grill. Also, place an onion or potato inside the neck of the chicken. This keeps the moisture in. Don’t be afraid to use beer for it doesn’t add a beer taste to the chicken but just provides moisture. Another trick to this chicken if cooked in the oven is to place it on a cake sheet with about 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup depending on how deep your cake sheet is. This also keeps the moisture in the chicken. I found that I couldn’t make a gravy from the drippings because it was all fat even after I put it in my defatter. As one reviwer stated, this chicken would be great with lemon-lime soda and other liquids. What made this recipe easy for me to prepare was at my local Walmart I actually found a Chicken Butt Can holder. It is a round base with a tube shape in the middle to hold the beer can. What a great invention. It helped keep the chicken upright and was easy to remove after cooking. It suggested letting the chicken stand for five to 10 minutes before removing the holder which was just perfect. Thanks for a great recipe. I will definately be making this again!”

“In my ‘neck-of-the-woods’ this is called “Beer-Can Butt Chicken”……and YES it’s good!……thanks for the chuckle on a different perspective on the name……;)”

“After several e-mails about this chicken from others, and reading the reviews, I too cut the salt way back!1/3 cup for one 4.5 pound chicken was way too much.I made using 1 tablespoon salt, 1-1/2 tablespoon pepper, 2 tablespoons paprika and 3 tablespoons brown sugar.The chicken as perfect!I don’t eat the skin of the chicken but the meat was moist and the rub flavored every single bite.Thanks for a great meal!”

“I’ve always wanted to try this recipe on the grill.Then I found this one and it never occurred to me I could make it in the oven.I was so excited.The chicken was so moist and the skin was delicious.I found myself nibbling on it as i was slicing it.The only thing I had to do was cover the chicken half way through as the skin was starting to burn.”

“Fabulous and fun. Cooked up four 3 pounders and served them in centre of table in the low roaster they cooked in so guests could slice off their own portions. Did not increase the spices at all and still had more than enuf – did tent with foil half way through to prevent burning and lined pan with foil for easy cleanup. Cooked for 2 1/2 to 3 hours (use a meat therm to ensure cooked thru – believe 190F) Served up with several cold salads served in tortilla bowls. Great presentation and guests of 10 impressed. Thank You!”

“It was really good. We used Sprite instead of beer, and garlic powder instead of so much salt.”