Ingredients:

Ø      1 Whole Chicken (No Guts)

Ø      1- 12 oz or 16 oz Light Beer

Ø      1 Serrano Pepper (seeded or not)

Ø      ½ Lemon

Ø      2 Garlic Cloves (halved)

Ø      ½ Yellow Onion (halved and quartered)

Ø      Olive Oil

Ø      1  tspn   - Fresh Ground Pepper

Ø     1 tbspn -Season All

Ø     1 tblspn -Garlic Powder

This is probably one of the best ways to barbecue a chicken. This probably will be one of the juiciest and most flavorful chickens you will ever eat.  Beer can chicken or beer in the butt chicken is also known here in South Texas as "Pollo Borracho".  Beer can chicken is a very popular way to barbecue a whole chicken.  Beer can chicken is exactly what it sounds like.  You get a whole chicken, take out the guts, and put the beer can in the open cavity.  When you start your fire make sure you shift all of your coals to one side of the pit if you are using a smaller barbecue pit to avoid flare ups.

Some people say that barbecuing with an aluminum beer can may not be healthy for you because of the aluminum and the paint on the can.  I have been barbecuing with a beer can for a long time and have never had problems with the way my bird came out when it was done.  If you are not comfortable with using a beer can that is fine.  There are manufactures that produce a beer can chicken rack that they say is safe to use.  Follow all the directions.  Instead of using the beer can substitute it with the beer can rack.

When I start my fire I usually try to keep my heat temperature between 300-350 degrees.  At this temperature I barbecue on indirect heat.  If you are barbecuing on direct heat try keeping the temperature between 200-250.  Remember that all barbecue pits and grills cook different due to insulation and rack heights.  The temperatures that work for me may not work for you.  After about 10-20 minutes you will know if the heat you have is what you need. 
Just adjust accordingly and you will be fine.

 Directions:

First lay your whole chicken in a shallow tin foil dish and pat dry.  take the insides out of the cavity and discard.  In a small bowel combine the season all, fresh ground pepper, and garlic powder and mix.  Next get your can of light beer (12 or 16 ounce).  Safely cut the top off and empty about 1/4 of the beer.  I usually use an electric can opener to cut the lid off. 

Next, cut and seed the serrano pepper in half and put it in the beer.  Get your lemon and cut it in half.  Squeeze the lemon in the beer and put the half squeezed lemon in the beer.   Cut both cloves of garlic in half and and put them in the beer.  Get your yellow onion and cut it in half.  Quarter the halved onion and put it in the beer.  Last, add a few pinches of the dry rub mixture in the beer as well.  It should start foaming up at this time.  If you are not using a beer can and are using a rack, nothing changes.

Now you can get the olive oil and rub generously all over the chicken.  Next, get the dry rub mixture and rub all over the chicken.  If you need more rub just add more equal parts.  Once your fire is at your desired temperature you are ready to barbecue the chicken.

On the tin foil dish grab your chicken and place the chicken over the beer can through the open cavity.  Now set the chicken and the beer can on your grill.  Prop the chicken legs forward and adjust the chicken on the grill so it will not fall.  That is it!  The chicken is ready to be barbecued.  I usually leave my chicken in the barbecue pit for about 3 hours.  Check
your bird about every 15-20 minutes if you are cooking over direct heat.

Once the chicken is done I usually put my chicken in a different tin foil dish and pour the beer over the bird.  The chicken is now ready to eat!