Beer-Butt Chicken

• 1 3–4 lb. chicken
• Olive oil
• 1 can beer
• 1 Tbsp. paprika
• 2 tsp. black pepper
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 0.5 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 2 tsp. tarragon
• 1 tsp. marjoram
• 1 tsp. brown sugar
• 0.5 tsp. sage
• 0.5 tsp. thyme
• 0.5 tsp. salt

Mix all the ingredients except the chicken, oil, and beer to make your dry rub.

Take the chicken out of the refrigerator an hour before you need to start cooking it. Pat it dry, salt it inside and out, rub it with olive oil, apply the dry rub, and let it sit at room temperature for an hour.

Open a can of beer and carefully position the open cloaca of the chicken over the can and slide the bird down until the can is fully inserted. Don't forget to open the can first.

If you're cooking this indoors, pre-heat your oven to 350F and sit the beer-can stuffed chicken in a roasting pan. Place it low in the oven so there's plenty of clearance. Roast until done—about 90–100 minutes.

Outdoors, prepare a barbecue for indirect heat. Seat the chicken on the open beer can and place it on the grill off to one side of the coals. Put a few wine-soaked oak chips on the fire, place the lid on the barbecue kettle, and cook for 1–1.5 hours.

Be careful not to get hot beer everywhere when removing the can from the chicken!

This works very well with a duck too; just allow an extra hour for the cooking.