On Friday I went to dinner at TMG simply for the bison sliders but ended up with “Beer Can” chicken for my entrée.  I was impressed with the dish, it was juicy and full of flavor. Right away I begin thinking “I can do this at home….”  With a quick bit of searching I located Big Bud’s Beer Can Chicken and went to town.

I made two small modifications. For this you’ll need:

• 1 (2 to 3-pound) whole chicken
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon mustard powder
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 (12-ounce) can beer
• 1 pound bacon

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Wash chicken with cold water and pat dry with paper towels.

Mix dry ingredients in small bowl. Rub 1/2 of the ingredients on inside cavity of chicken. Gently peel skin away from chicken and rub mixture into meat of chicken. Open beer can pour out about 1/2 cup. Drop the garlic cloves into the beer can. Place chicken, open end down, over the beer can to insert the beer into the cavity. Place chicken, standing up, in large saute pan.

Place 1/3 of the bacon in the top cavity of the chicken and drape the remaining 2/3 of the bacon down the outside of the chicken. Pierce the bacon to the chicken with toothpicks… again, I didn’t have toothpicks so I opted for skewers.

Place chicken in the oven for 10 minutes and then lower temperature to 325 degrees F and cook for another 1 hour, or until the internal temperature in the thickest part of the thigh reaches 165 degrees. And you get…

The aroma of this dish cooking filled the entire condo, and as time marched closer to the finish I simply wanted to eat the chicken right from the oven.

Bacon and chicken, who could ask for anything more?  The dish was actually more tended than I would have expected and the flavor provided by the rub was subtle, not overwhelming, but perfect for the chicken. This is a keeper.

I also made a small side, potatoes with butter and chives… nothing special but I thought it would go with the flavors in the rub.