📋 BBQ Beer Can Chicken Recipe

beer can chicken, sliced, on a black pate, with a knife, and a can of beer in the background

5 from 8 votes

📋 BBQ Beer Can Chicken Recipe

This BBQ Beer Butt Chicken recipe (also known as beer can chicken) with Molasses Beer BBQ sauce is moist and juicy, making it the perfect Father's Day dinner. It's also Weight Watchers friendly!

Course dinner, main

Cuisine North American

Keyword barbecue, bbq, beer, beer can, chicken

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 1 30

Total Time 1 40

Servings people

Calories 470kcal

Author Terri Gilson

Equipment

Ingredients

1 can beer I use light beer
1 whole chicken (roaster)
Molasses & Beer BBQ sauce (see recipe below)

Molasses & Beer BBQ sauce:

1 ¼ cup chili sauce
¾ cup molasses
¾ cup light beer
2 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon Louisiana hot sauce
1 ¼ tablespoon lemon juice
½ tablespoon liquid smoke

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Heat grill to medium heat.
Open can of beer with can opener, pour half the beer into a container and reserve. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels.
Then place whole chicken onto can and push can into the cavity of the chicken as shown.
Place chicken upright in a deep aluminum roaster pan and place onto grill. Close BBQ lid and cook for 45 minutes
Combine all BBQ sauce ingredients in sauce pan, the baste generously on chicken.
Allow chicken to cook for remaining 45 minutes. **Note: Total cooking time will vary, depending on the size of your chicken. You should use an instant read thermometer to ensure doneness of chicken (see Top tip)
Meanwhile, simmer the remaining BBQ sauce for 20 minutes, until reduced by half the volume.
Remove chicken from BBQ and slice. Serve chicken with remaining BBQ sauce, as desired.

Notes

*Note: Cooking Time: You'll need to keep the grill going for up to 1.5 hrs so make sure you have extra propane or are filled up

**Note: Grill height: Your grill will need to be high enough that the lid can close over an upright chicken and test it before you light it

*** It is very difficult to get a nutritional analysis with this recipe. This nutritional analysis was assumes that you use ALL the BBQ sauce and that it stays on the chicken. (My family only used about ⅓ of it for 4 of us and much bakes off in a 1.5 hr cooking period) The calorie count and fat content per portion is reduced by using less BBQ sauce as well. I would prefer not to use a nutritional analysis on this recipe, but google requires it if you want to show up in searches.

***** In terms of WW points, I calculate it like a regular BBQ sauce (most seem to be 3 WW points for 2 tbsp) depending on how much you use, as chicken is 0 points on my program, therefore I count 6 WW points per serving, assuming I consume about 4 tablespoon of Barbecue sauce.

Nutrition