Orange Grilled Beer Can Chicken

Contributed By:
Arlene Cummings
www.cookingwithsugar.com

My husband doesn’t cook much in the kitchen, but the grill is his baby. He’s great at making steaks, burgers, and even grilled pizza but this chicken recipe makes him look like a gourmet chef. It takes only a few minutes to get it prepped and on the grill...then the beer and seasonings do the rest.

Seeing the chickens sitting upright on the grill is a funny sight. But trust me when I tell you this method of grilling chicken produces the juiciest, tastiest bird with very little effort.

You don’t actually have to use beer. There are plenty of canned beverages that will work well with this method of cooking. You can use lemon-lime soda, cola or even apple or orange juice. You just need to make sure that the can is big enough to fit inside the bird and that the bird is light enough to sit up. I find that a standard-size soda or beer can works great in a 3- to 4-pound bird.

The first thing you need to do is make sure your bird is clean and dry. Then you can give it a light coating of olive oil. Sprinkle with any dry rub of your choice.

Before you put the birds over the cans, you need to pour out or drink half of the liquid in each can. As secret ingredients, my husband adds a few garlic cloves to each can and puts a quarter slice of orange inside each bird.

When the birds are ready to go, they need to be put on the side of the grill that is off so they aren’t over direct flame.

When the chickens are almost cooked (about 1 hour), my husband grills a few orange halves that later get squeezed over the cooked, sliced chicken.

The end result is grilled chicken with a nice crispy skin and juicy flavorful meat.