Beer-Can Chicken tips

Piercing the can
It’s easier to make the vents in flimsy aluminum cans when the can is stabilized by a commercially available beer-can chicken roaster. Place the can in the can holder, close the cage until it snaps in place, and use a can opener to pierce the top.

Stabilizing the Tipsy Chicken
If you don’t have a beer-can chicken roaster, you can still set the chicken up by using the can as the third prop of a tripod; spread the drumsticks out to support the chicken.

Direct Grilling calls for cooking food right over the fire. This method is generally used to cook small or thin pieces of food, like steak, chicken, fish, or vegetables.

Indirect Grilling is used to cook larger pieces of meat, such as whole chickens or pork shoulders, and involves cooking foods next to, not directly over, the fire. For gas grills, this generally means lighting only half of the burners. For charcoal grills, it means setting the charcoal up to the sides of the grill and leaving the center open.

Barbecue Resources
Beer-Can Chicken Roaster ($14.90), Captain Steve’s Beer-Can Chicken Roaster; 800-480-4450 (access code: 00), www.beercanchickenroaster.com

Shellfish Griller ($41.45); 877-768-5766 or 401-364-9657, www.greatgrate.com

Grills and Accessories Char-Broil: 800-241-7548, www.charbroil.com; Weber-Stephen Products Company: 800-446-1071, www.weber.com