Nashville Hot Beer Can Chicken

There are many ways to cook a chicken on the grill.  It can be prepared in a pan over vegetables, Spatchcocked or simply set on a grill to roast.  There are also an unlimited number of ways to season a chicken and we decided to go with a beer can chicken seasoned with a Nashville Hot seasoning.  This is a process of cooking a chicken mounted on an open can of beer.  When cooked hot enough, this allows the beer to release steam and help cook the chicken from the inside-out and hopefully moisten the chicken while it is cooking.  One important step to this process is to block up the hole at the top of the chicken cavity so the steam will stay inside and penetrate the meat inside of the cavity.  I like to use an onion for this. As far as the seasoning, if you do not like spicy, choose a different seasoning!  “Nashville Hot” is like the big bully brother of Buffalo style chicken.  It is hot!

This is a simple recipe to make and is always a big hit.  It is probably the best way to ensure that you are making a tasty and extra juicy bird for your guests to enjoy.  There are many recipes out there for the seasoning, but we wanted to keep it very simple for this one.  It is delicious and flavorful and packs plenty of heat.  Click on the link and watch the whole video.  We used a cool little beer can motorcycle chicken stand from Toms Ridickulous Things.  It is fun and helps the chicken stand up for more even cooking.  Do not forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel and enable notifications so you’ll know whenever we release a new video.  You won’t want to miss some of the great things we have planned!  

Enjoy your spicy beer can chicken and thanks for joining us again on The FOGO Life!

Video Recipe

Directions

1. Place your chicken on a rack in a pan and cover the entire chicken with kosher salt. Place the salted chicken in the refrigerator, uncovered for 24 hours.
2. Remove the chicken from the refrigerator and wash all the salt off.  Pat dry and spray the entire chicken with the Duck Fat Spray.
3. Coat the entire chicken completely with the Nashville Hot Chicken Seasoning
4. Fill your grill with FOGO Charcoal and prepare it for indirect cooking at 375°
5. Open the beer and place the chicken over the top of the can so that it slides over the entire can.  Arrange the legs so that the chicken will stand on its own.  You can also use a beer can chicken stand to make it a bit easier to stand the chicken up. 
6. Trim the onion so that it will fit in the hole at the top of the chicken cavity.  The idea is to plug up that hole as tightly as possible.  This will prevent the steam from the beer from escaping.
7. Place the chicken on the beer can on the grates and close the lid.  Cook the chicken until fully done.  The breast will measure 165° when fully cooked.  We recommend pulling it off just a few degrees less than that and allow the chicken to rest.  This will allow the carryover heat to finish cooking your bird and make for the juiciest chicken possible.
8. Quarter the chicken by removing the thigh/drumstick and wings from the breasts.  
9. Serve and enjoy.  This is traditionally served with a side of dill pickle slices or rounds and a slice or two of white bread.  I like to dip mine in blue cheese, even though it is not Buffalo style.

RELATED LINKS:

• FOGO Charcoal
• Duck Fat Spray
• Toms Ridickulous Things
• Big Green Egg
• Nashville Hot Seasoning