Beer-butt chicken

Know what I feel like having for dinner? A chicken carcass on a half empty can of cheap beer swill!


What is it?
Beer-butt (or beer can) chicken ... a chicken grilled on top of a half empty beer can. The metal can acts like a roaster, while the liquid inside the can provides flavor and moisture.

Where do you get it?
Foodgoat's brother introduced us to this ultimate hillbilly delight last Easter (it took me a while to find the misplaced pictures, okay?). We went out to visit him and his lovely family in the quaint Appalachian village of Cadiz, Ohio (birthplace of Clark Gable!). Cadiz is kind of out in the hinterlands, but it's not hillbilly country. We know because everyone seems to have a satisfactory level of book larnin' as well as most of their teeth.

How do you make it?
Spice a chicken.
Grill it, covered, propped up on a half-full can of something (I think Coke may have been used here).
While it cooks, exercise your influence as beloved Uncle over small, impressionable nephews ...

By getting George to wash your car ...


... and to give Sienna a bath ...


... and by encouraging the enjoyment of wanton destruction (I mean, by teaching hand-eye coordination) through video games.


When the chicken's cooked, remove the chicken from the grill, and the can from the chicken.
Eat!

How was it?
Juicy and delicious and very tender. In a word, tasty (hence the craving for more 7 months later). And it's like recycling! Hillbillies sure are smart.