Early this year, Ed started taking an interest in cooking, and I love it  🙂  He’s made cupcakes (recipe here) and brownies (recipe here) and more recently, beer butt chicken.  I liked the beer butt chicken so much that I asked him to show me how he made it, so that I could post it on my food blog.  The skin is beautifully crispy, the beer keeps the meat moist, and it’s really easy to make.

Beer Butt Chicken Recipe

1 whole (3 1/2 to 4 lb) chicken

1 tall boy can of beer, at room temperature

1 tbsp paprika

1 tbsp garlic powder

1 tbsp onion powder

1/2 tbsp coarse salt

1/4 tbsp ground black pepper

Remove all of the racks from your oven except for one on the lowest level.  Preheat the oven to 375 F.  Rinse the chicken under cold water and pat dry with paper towels.  Open the can of beer, pour out 1/3 of the liquid (for drinking) and set the can aside.  In a small bowl, mix together the paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and papper.  Rub the seasoning all over the chicken, including the cavity.  Put the remaining seasoning into the can of beer.  Note that the beer may foam over.  Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, place the beer can in the middle of the sheet, and place the chicken over the beer can so that the chicken is standing up with the wings up and the drumsticks pointing down (ie. with the beer can up the chicken’s butt).  Place in the oven and cook for 45 to 55 minutes (turning once half way), until the meat starts to shrivel away from the ends of the bones and the juices from the thigh run clear when pierced with a sharp knife.  Do not overcook the chicken.  When the chicken is just cooked through, carefully remove it from the oven and remove the chicken from the beer can (I used thongs and oven mitts).  Set the chicken on a plate to rest for about 10 minutes before cutting it into pieces and serving.