Yet Another Beer Can Chicken

I was hoping my Shop-Rite would have decent soft shell crabs. They were on sale this week for $3.99 each. They were tiny and anemic looking which means all shell and no meat. Not worth even at $.99 each.

When I plan my menu for the week, it is usually after I have seen the weekly circular. I try to schedule as many sale items into my week, along with pantry and freezer items on hand.

I found an organic roaster on sale at $.99 a pound and a Beer Can Chicken made it on to the menu. It probably is The Nudge's No.1 favorite dish.

I must make this recipe once a month on the grill in the summer and at least 4x in the winter. We love a traditional roasted chicken too, but the skin gets crisper and the meat is definitely more moist when it roasts standing up.

I like to throw in some soaked apple wood chips for a light smoke flavor. That you can not do in your oven.

Wash and dry your chicken. Rub it all over with olive oil and then sprinkle Italian Seasoning liberally over the front and the back of the chicken. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and sit it on the can. The can is 3/4 full, with 2 whole cloves of garlic additional Italian Seasonings in it.



Set up a 2 zone fire on your grill. If you do not have coal containers, just place lite colas evenly on both sides of your grill. If using a gas grill, shut either front and back burners off or one side. You want to place your chicken for indirect grilling.



Place the chicken on a glass Pyrex pie plate and set it in the middle of the grate.
I have found that a chicken over 4 pounds tends to touch the top of my grill cover so I place a shawl over the top. It also helps to keep the breasts from over cooking and getting dry and tough.



Add a handful of soaked chips on each side of the coals, close the lid and grill for 90 minutes a temperature of no less then 350F. When the breast registers 160F on an instant read thermometer, I take the chicken off and let it rest.



I carve mine right off the upright chicken.



I bought carrot bunches and will throw them on the grill, with just a pat of butter, salt & pepper in a foil pouch for the last 20 minutes of the grilling time.

No pots to wash and we like that.

You could make mashed potatoes, baked potatoes or sweet potatoes for the family but we are eating carbs less lately and I want to keep that up.