Beer-Can Chicken: And 74 Other Offbeat Recipes for the Grill

by Steven Raichlen, Steven Raichlen

Chicken on a beer can? You bet! When Steven Raichlen, America's barbecue guru, says it's the best grilled chicken he's ever tasted, cooks stop and listen. An essential addition to every grill jockey's library, Beer-Can Chicken presents 75 must-try beer-can variations and other offbeat recipes for the grill. Recipes such as Saigon Chicken with Lacquered Skin and Spicy Peanut Sauce, Root Beer Game Hens, Beer-Can Turkey (uses the 32-ounce Foster's), Stoned Chicken (it's grilled under a brick), Dirty Steak, Fish on a Board (Salmon with Brown Sugar Glaze), Mussels Eclade-grilled under pine needles, Grilled Eggs, Wacky Rumaki, Rotisseried Garlic Rolls-even Grilled Yellow Pepper Soup will have your mouth-watering. Whether on a can, on a stick, under a brick, in a leaf, on a plank, or in the embers, each grilling technique is explained in easy-to-follow steps, with recipes that guarantee no matter how crazy the technique, the results are always outstanding. So pop a cold one and have fun.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Nonfiction, Reference, Food, Food and Drink

326 pages, Paperback

First published May 6, 2002

About the author

Steven Raichlen is a multi-award winning writer, television host, and novelist. His books include the international blockbusters The Barbecue Bible, How To Grill, Project Smoke, and the New York Times bestselling Planet Barbecue. His novel, The Hermit of Chappaquiddick, tells a story of love, loss, redemption and really good food set on Martha's Vineyard. Translated into 17 languages, Raichlen's books have won 5 James Beard Awards and 3 IACP-Julia Child Awards and have sold more than 5 million copies. Raichlen also hosts the popular TV shows, Project Smoke and Project Fire on PBS; Steven Raichlen Grills Italy in Italy; and Le Maitre du Grill in Quebec. He lives and writes in Coconut Grove, Florida, and on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. His websites are stevenraichlen.com and barbecuebible.com

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

a great grilling recipe and tips book. Worth looking over. I bought this copy for 50 cents at a thrift store.

[Karen Hancock · Rating 5 out of 5]

When it comes to BBQ, smoking, and grilling, Stephen Raichlen is an icon. His cookbooks are full of tips and how-tos to make the most clueless cook turn out perfectly cooked food outdoors. Beer-Can Chicken: Foolproof Recipes for the Crispiest, Crackliest, Smokiest, Most Succulent Birds You’ve Ever Tasted is another excellent cookbook by Raichlen that outdoor cooking enthusiasts will definitely want on their cookbook shelves.

Beer Can Chicken has been popular during the last couple of years, and most of us have made it at least one or twice on the grill or in the smoker. Although this cookbook has a basic recipe for Beer Can Chicken, the best part of the book is the variations that are possible that most of us haven’t thought of. There are Indian, Vietnamese, Cajun, Japanese, and others, as well as birds without the beer, but done with other liquids.

The recipes are written in the traditional manner with the ingredients listed first with step-by-step instructions that are easy to follow. Both beginning and advanced cooks can successfully prepare these recipes with picture perfect results. And the book includes beautiful, professional photographs of the chickens that will make your mouth water.

All told, Stephen Raichlen knows what he’s doing and has a way of teaching all of us what we need to know to make moist, juicy chickens with little effort. There are enough good recipes to keep barbecue chefs cooking new dishes for months. This, like most of Raichlen’s cookbooks, is a winner.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I still want to know who first came up with the idea of sticking a beer can up a chickens wazoo before putting it on the grill. Surely there were a few empties involved before that person thought this one up. Well if you want to give it a try this book will take you through the process one step at a time for each recipe. And there is more than beer can chicken in this cookbook such as the recipe for partridge on a pear can or eggs on the grill. The beer can idea is all about keeping your chicken moist while cooking over a dry heat and it really works. However I do not reccomend inserting a large can of any fluid up a persons rectum before hiking in the desert. While attempting to work upon the same principles I do not believe that it would work. Also may be very painful. And that is one thing this book is not. Try some of these recipes and have fun with getting to know your grill on a more personal level.

[Grant Sanders · Rating 4 out of 5]

Does beer can chicken deserve its own cookbook? No. But the idea of beer can chicken is so fun and delicious, it deserves at least a whole book worth of hype. You will likely only cook one or two of the recipes in this book, and after a while, you will be able to cook beer can chicken without even referring to it. I have not looked at my copy for years. truth be told, some of the other books by the author cover beer can chicken enough to make this book redundant. But for someone who just got a new grill, or who has very little experience grilling whole birds, this book would make a welcome gift.

[Dale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty excited about this book. I've grilled chicken a number of ways but never tried the beer can method. He has quite a number of variations on the theme. The first one we tried was an absolute winner: Black Cherry Soda Chicken, pg 107. The tart cherry blended perfectly with the crispy smokey chicken. Great leftovers too.
Looking forward to trying more of these recipes this summer.