We headed upstate last week for a little get-away of ATV riding, hunting, beer drinking, and of course eating. We brought out a smoker to cook some beef brisket which then spawned the idea of doing a beer can chicken, something I have been wanting to do for a while. What better can of beer for this than a tall boy from Sixpoint (and even better yet their fall seasonal, Autumnation).
This all started with a good brine. Chicken stock mixed with some of the Autumnation along with onions, garlic, rosemary, sage, thyme, sugar; pretty much anything we could find to submerge the piece of poultry in.
We let the chicken brine for about four and half hours until it was time to put it on the smoker.
Three hours later it was time to feast on our late afternoon snack. Juicy, tender, and crispy, it was the perfect lunch with a side of smoked kielbasa. It wasn’t long before it was all gone and we were left with nothing but a pile of scraps and in need of some serious napping. I can’t wait to try one of these beer can chickens again – hands down the best way to cook a bird.
-Brian