No beer butt endorsed chicken for me thank you. Beer-can chicken doesn’t seem like a very good idea to me, despite that it’s all the rage. For the past few years everyone has seemed to get into the act and recommending methods of barbecuing or roasting a chicken stuffed atop a half-full-opened beer can. Getting those hoppy and malty flavors mingled with a tender roasted chicken sounds delightful, but I have serious anxiety regarding the safety of this cooking method? And I’m surprised no one has mentioned my concern.
Would you fry a meal in an open food can? Would you roast any food in an open can? Would you boil your meal in an open can? I seem to remember from my Boy Scout days that this was not a good idea at all.
Why isn’t it a good idea?
All food cans, including beer cans have a thin coating of special and mostly inert plastic. That’s fine for helping maintain the flavor of the food inside the can at cool or room temperatures. But it seems insane to subject the can with its coating to potentially high temperatures and have potentially dangerous heat compromised plastic enter into food. The effect may be tasteless, but so is food microwaved in plastic – which we are constantly warned about.
Sure there are some plasticizers safer than others, but I don’t think that most people who are barbecuing over a grill have the quality control of temperature. I can’t help but be concerned that high temperatures could send up wrongful effluents.
I’d love for someone to tell me I’m wrong and that subjecting plastic to high temperatures with food is safe. Tell me it ain’t so. I’ll just drink my craft beer from a can from time to time and recycle the aluminum.
Ditto: No beer butt endorsed chicken for me thank you.
Better bet: Find an uncoated stainless steel can and fill that with beer. Dogpile search “Beer Can Chicken.” And have at it.
Some recipes for Beer Can Chicken
Comments
Ditto that Charlie. I love to make beer can chicken but I had the same issue with it when I first began making it. So I started using a stainless steel pan and poured my beer into that. Same great flavor and no chemicals!
Hey Charlie,
Now that the beer is out of the six pack and you admitt to haveing been a Boy Scout, How about takeing a few minutes and putting together a Beer Makeing "Merit Badge" for us big Boy Scouts? A few requirements to fulfill and earn the Beer makeing Merit Badge.
greg
But... it's delicious!
I'm with you, Charlie, I'd rather drink my beer than cook my chicken over it. And may I add, I'd still rather drink my beer from a bottle. I don't like the can taste, just a preference, of course.
I read somewhere that Budweiser said it was safe. But, I think they were just referring to the paint on the cans. I had not thought about the plastic lining.
Hi Charlie,
Been making "beer can chicken" for years with a ceramic pseudo-can produced by Grill Friends - no can weirdness. Try a Belgian saison beer or German weizen - truly fabulous. Here's a link (non-promotional): w-w-w.bbqproshop.com/tools/poultry/chicken-sitter-stand.html.
Cheers,
Matt Stinchfield
The Palate Jack®
I've often puzzled about this myself. The whole idea seems a bit gimmicky to me, even if the idea of the steam releasing inside the carcass _does_ make a bit of sense in terms of cooking efficiency (roasted from the outside and steamed from the inside).
But the issues of the paint on the can and the plastic liner inside the can releasing potentially toxic mysteries into the chicken's can makes one wonder.
Get over it! I've had beer butt chicken many times with no ill effects. Now if you had it every day that might be different. But as my Drill Instructor said, Who wants to live forever!
Oh, no problem there... I am over it.
I'm over the need to make beer can chicken when there are so many better (and probably safer) ways to achieve the same thing.
And besides, to each his own.
Anyway, it's just not a big deal.
As far as living forever, perhaps not... but with so many things in life that are thrust on us by our food suppliers and totally _out_ of our individual control (other than opting out), I figure it's good to be conscious of the things that I _can_ have a say about and decide for myself.
Burning paint and plastic fumes directly permeating my food is among those things. No thanks.
But, your results may vary...so enjoy!
It's all good.
I have a non stick roasting pan with a beer-can shaped center for doing my birds. This is great for us homebrewers since I almost never have beer in a can- only in kegs.
I agree; the coating and paint isn't probably the best thing for you, but I bet we inhale or eat much worse stuff on a daily basis.
As long as there is beer in the can, you should be safe. The temperature of the can won't go over boiling.(100C or 212F when i remember correctly)
Beer cans are also pasteurized at 60-70C sometimes, so the should stand some more.
But for the feeble minded, weld a SS tube on a SS sheet and fill it with homebrew. The SS sheet makes a better stand anyway.
And yes, the chickens are extremly delicious.
Howzabout Glass? Beer-Bottle Chicken, anyone? I did it with a bottle and it worked great! Half-full of beer, it stays plenty cool. I like drinking the first half out of a bottle anyway.... Ever try to melt an empty beer bottle in a campfire? Takes a long while... Be sure the chicken's arse is resting on the grill so the bottle isn't supporting the weight and add some herbs and/or maybe some fruit juice to the bottle to add some flavors... I recommend maltier rather than hoppier beers... Savory, ya know? Like the Kronik. Bon Eatin'!
Hey Chris,
good information and as mech.eng. I share your opinion - to try a different taste from our "standard chicken" ( garlic and Pernod in the oven ) I appreciate the ideas from Matt and Chris with just another material.
And Weizen-Beer we have enough here :o)
Regards from Bavaria, Germnany
Hartmut
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