There are few summer food memes more kitschy than the ever-present and Tik-Tokable “beer can chicken.” From Memorial Day onward, one can never really avoid the wave of beer can chicken snippets, recipes and recommendations–such as the fact that you probably shouldn’t make beer can chicken with a whole aluminum can stuffed inside a chicken cavity at all, for numerous reasons. For one, the presence of the can makes uneven cooking a risk, which could lead to raw chicken on the interior of a bird you think is fully cooked. For another, do you really want to season the inside of your bird with whatever chemicals are released from a beer can/label as you roast it for an hour? Must we explain why that’s probably not a good idea?
One company that is on board, though, with a more responsible (but less visually amusing) version of beer can chicken is PERDUE®, which just developed its own beer can chicken beer collaboration with New York City’s Torch & Crown Brewing Co. Calling this concoction a “double-citrus summer ale,” the resulting beer is brewed with “Citra hops, lemon and orange puree, honey, rosemary, thyme, sea salt and pink peppercorn.” Which is to say, all ingredients that theoretically one would want infused into their roasted chicken, but perhaps questionable whether one would want to drink at a backyard BBQ. Who doesn’t want herbs de Provence with their golden ale?
At the very least, PERDUE® recognizes that it shouldn’t be instructing people to physically jam the can into the cavity of the chicken, as they describe the process as the following:
The recipe starts with PERDUE® chicken and the beer itself, of course, plays a crucial role in beer can chicken–a method of indirect grilling that involves pouring half the beer into a food-grade roasting stand and then standing a chicken upright and cooking it using a grill or smoker. Not only does the brew infuse the bird with flavor, marinating it from the inside out, but it keeps the chicken moist and tender during the cooking process. Best of all, the recipe encourages consumers 21+ to set half the beer aside to drink and enjoy with your meal!
So there you have it, a gimmick on top of a gimmick, but at least it’s one that’s probably not going to give you food poisoning. If you can’t resist the siren song of the beer can chicken, the titular beer is now available for purchase online
