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Beer-Can Chicken Is Summer Barbecue at Its Best

partysugar — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 13:00:42 -0700

Although this delectable chicken looks like he's running away, he's actually perched atop a beer can! Grilling chicken on an aluminum can is an excellent way to ensure that the meat stays moist and succulent. While it cooks, the beer evaporates and flavors the chicken's inside cavity. There's lots of ways to season the outside of a beer-can chicken, but I think the most satisfying is a classic spicy-sweet barbecue rub with a finger-licking good homemade sauce. My dad has a metal can holder that makes grilling a little easier, however, this tool is not necessary: one can cook the chicken on the can alone. To learn the technique to this campfire favorite, read more.

Beer Can Chicken
From Steven Raichlen

Ingredients

1 (12-ounce) can beer
1 (31/2 to 4 pound) chicken
2 tablespoons Basic Barbecue Rub, recipe follows
2 cups barbecue sauce
4 to 6 cups hickory or apple wood chips, soaked for 1 hour in water to cover, drained

Directions

Pop the tab off the beer can. Using a church key style can opener, make a few more holes in the top of the can. Pour out half the beer into the soaking water of the wood chips. Set the can of beer aside.
Set up the grill for indirect grilling and preheat to medium. If using a charcoal grill, place a large drip pan in the center. If using a gas grill, place all the wood chips in the smoker box or in a smoker pouch and preheat the grill to high until you see smoke, then reduce the heat to medium.
Remove the packet of giblets from the body cavity of the chicken and set aside for another use. Remove and discard the fat just inside the body and neck cavities.
Rinse the chicken, inside and out, under cold running water, drain, and blot dry inside and out with paper towels.
Sprinkle 2 teaspoons of the rub inside the body and neck cavities of the chicken. Rub the bird all over on the outside with 2 teaspoons of the rub. If you have the patience, you can put some of the rub under the skin being careful not to tear it.
Spoon the remaining 2 teaspoons of rub through the holes into the beer in the can. Don't worry if it foams up, this is normal. Insert the beer can into the body cavity of the chicken and spread out the legs to form a sort of tripod. Tuck the wing tips behind the chicken's back.
When ready to cook, if using a charcoal grill, toss all the wood chips on the coals. Stand the chicken up in the center of the hot grate, over the drip pan and away from the heat. Cover the grill and cook the chicken until the skin is a dark golden brown and very crisp and the meat is cooked to an internal temperature of 180 degrees F, about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours. If using a charcoal grill, you'll need to add 12 fresh coals per side after 1 hour.
Using tongs, carefully transfer the chicken in its upright position on the beer can to a platter and present it to your guests. Let rest 5 minutes, and then carefully remove the chicken from the beer can. Take care not to spill the hot beer and burn yourself. Quarter or carve the chicken and serve with barbecue sauce.

Serves 4.

Basic Barbecue Rub:
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup sweet paprika
3 tablespoons ground black pepper
3 tablespoons kosher or sea salt
1 tablespoon hickory salt
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon cayenne powder

Combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir to blend together. Store the rub in an airtight jar away from heat or light and it will keep for at least 6 months.

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Make Your Own Barbecue Sauce

partysugar — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 03:30:44 -0700

I'm with the majority: I love barbecue sauce. Not just any barbecue sauce, but homemade finger-licking good barbecue sauce. Every Summer, I end up making some random recipe and become totally obsessed with it. Last year I was all about Barefoot Contessa's simple sauce and the Summer before I was crazy for Everyday Food's recipe. Currently, I can't get enough of Steven Raichlen's coca-cola barbecue sauce.It's easy to make and tastes divine. Although there is no vinegar in the ingredient list, the sauce has a delightful tanginess and rich thickness. Liquid smoke provides a depth of flavor. If you're a fan of this style of slightly sweet and piquant (it's not spicy) barbecue sauce I highly recommend you make it. Seriously it only takes 10 minutes. Learn how it's done now.

Simple Tip: Turn Husks Into Handles

YumSugar — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 07:45:18 -0700

After watching Steven Raichlen's barbecue presentation at the Food and Wine Classic, I knew I had to make his corn. He cooked it with a coconut milk-based coating, but acknowledges that it's tasty on its own, slathered in butter, or doused with a mayo-lime-chili concoction.The only thing he insisted on was grilling it with the husk off. Cooking corn with the husks on only steams the corn, it does not grill it. However the husks do come in handy, to make the corn easier to eat, he turns the husks into handles! To learn how, read more.

Don't shuck the corn completely. Simply peel the husks all the way down. Next, wrap a piece of string, or a long piece of the husk around the bottom. This will create a fun handle that guests can use to hold the hot corn. To keep it from burning, I wrapped my husk handle in a piece of foil. You could also cover part of the grill with foil and place the husk on top of that area.

What do you guys think of this tip? Do you have any great corn grilling tips to share?

The Barbecue Guru's Tips for Better Barbecue

YumSugar — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 07:45:44 -0700

Those of you who are barbecue fanatics are probably familiar with barbecue guru Steven Raichlen. Steven is the author of over ten cookbooks, including the BBQ Bible, and is the host of the PBS show Primal Grill. He recently finished a world tour in promotion for his new book Planet BBQ, and his last stop was the Food and Wine Classic in Aspen. I watched his cooking demonstration and snagged a bunch of great grilling tips. To see Steven Raichlen's barbecue tips, read more.

When grilling corn, pull the husks down to the bottom to create a handle. Grilling corn in the husk steams the corn instead of actually grilling it, so it's best to barbecue husked corn.
Pack as much food as possible onto a skewer leaving only a tiny tip at the top of the skewer. This makes the food easier to eat. If the food is way down on the skewer guests will have to pull the hot food up to the top and could risk impaling themselves.
Should you use charcoal or gas? He prefers neither and recommends grilling with wood.
A wadded up piece of foil and a pair of tongs make a wonderful substitute to a wire brush. Use this to clean the grill.
A steak is ready to flip when pearls of blood bead up on the top of it.
If the protein is thinner than the palm of your hand, leave the lid open while cooking. If it's thicker, close the lid during cooking.

What's Yummy This Week - YumSugar Weekly Recap

partysugar — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 09:30:42 -0700

Here are six items you must have to make it through the month of July.
Check out Steven Raichlen's tips for better barbecue.
Meet Chef Marcus Samuelsson.
Test your coffee I.Q.
Make homemade versions of these childhood favorites: nutter butters and marshmallows.
Beer: it's not just for boys!
What foods did you once dislike but now love?
Hell's Kitchen is down to the final two.
Do you know Starbucks by the numbers?