Beer Can Chicken

Ever since we moved into our little townhouse in 2007, we've been complaining about the stained old linoleum floor in the kitchen and entryway. A few weekends ago, we decided it was finally time to tackle the issue headfirst. Well, maybe not headfirst. That would hurt. Anyway, the point is that we tiled our kitchen floor! And by we, I mean Don tiled while I provided moral support and beer. While my kitchen was in oven-less shambles, I decided to make good use of the grill. On the menu was beer can chicken served with a tasty quinoa/avocado/fruit/almond salad. Our grill has a great side burner on which to cook the quinoa, so it worked out perfectly! We first brined the chicken for 5 hours (1 hour per pound) and it came out so ridiculously juicy words don't describe it. I can't say whether the juiciness came more from the brining or the cooking method, but my guess is the brining so while it's not a necessary step in beer can chicken, it's recommended if you have the time.

kitchen with no linoleum, oven, or fridge to speak of

Brining a Chicken

1 whole chicken
water to cover the chicken completely
1/4 cup salt per quart of water used

Remove the innards from the chicken and set aside for stock. Place it in a heavy pot and cover with water (keep track of how much you use). Stir in 1/4 cup of salt per quart of water. Cover and refrigerate for one hour per pound of chicken.

Grilled Beer Can Chicken

1 4-5 lb. whole chicken
2 tbsp oil
salt and freshly-ground pepper
your favorite spice rub (we used Arizona Dreamin' from Penzey's)
1 can beer (we used Becks)

You will be grilling over indirect heat so preheat grill accordingly (we have a gas grill so just used one half of the burner and placed the chicken on the other half).

If you are using a brined chicken, be sure to empty the cavity of all water and pat dry all over with a towel. Separate the skin from the body as much as possible. Mix together oil, salt, pepper, and spice rub. Spread the rub all over the chicken under the skin (and over where you couldn't separate the skin from the body).

Open that can of beer and chug about half (bonus points if this is done in one long swig). Gracefully lower the chicken onto the top of the open can (you may want to ask the chicken permission first). Balance the chicken on the hot grill, using its legs as a tripod. Carefully lower the lid of your grill to cover. I say "carefully" because we didn't realize until too late that our chicken is taller than would have been ideal; the very top of the chicken hit the grill lid. Actually that may have ended up being beneficial for the whole balancing thing.

Note: this fancy beer was just a stand-in. We actually used Becks

Cook for about 1.5 - 2 hours, or until the internal temperature is about 150 in the breast and 170 in the thigh. Remove chicken from grill and let sit for 10-15 minutes. Slowly lift the chicken off the can (there will most likely still be beer/juices in it) then carve. Make stock with the bones and fat!

Making stock on my handy-dandy side burner (the smell of which is apparently irresistible to opossums)

While the chicken is cooking, make the quinoa.

Quinoa Salad with Avocado, Almonds, and Dried Fruit
adapted from Fine Cooking

3 tbsp dried cranberries

2 tbsp dried apricots, chopped

1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed well

salt

1 lemon

3 tbsp olive oil

1/4 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp smoked paprika

2 avocados, pitted, peeled, and diced

2 scallions, thinly sliced

3 tbsp coursely chopped toasted almonds

freshly-ground black pepper

Cook quinoa according to package directions.

In a small tupperware, zest the lemon and squeeze out 1 tbsp of the juice. Add the olive oil and spices; cover the tupperware tightly and shake well to emulsify.

In a bowl, combine the quinoa, cranberries, apricots, avocados, scallions, almonds, and dressing. Serve warm or cooled.

Me, a few days later, enjoying my newly tiled floor!