Skip the grill and make slow cooker beer can chicken! Cook a whole chicken in the slow cooker with beer and finish it off on the grill for a delicious, moist chicken.

We have been cooking whole chickens on the grill for years. In fact, we grilled our first whole chicken about a month after we got married. It’s been a favorite recipe since.

Making beer can chicken on the grill makes a delicious and moist chicken. But it’s a little bit fussy and the chicken needs some baby-sitting. Plus it uses up a lot of propane.

So when I ran across a recipe for making beer can chicken in the slow cooker on Hamilton Beach’s website, I knew I had to try it. I didn’t really think you could replicate beer can chicken in a slow cooker.

I was wrong. This is a great option to make beer can chicken without a grill! We did crisp up the chicken skin on the grill after is was cooked in the slow cooker. It worked perfectly.

Slow Cooker Beer Can Chicken Recipe

The trick cooking a whole chicken in a slow cooker is to keep raised up off the bottom of the crock. I usually use potatoes when making slow cooker roasted chicken.

But I wasn’t sure about potatoes sitting in beer so used tin foil. Tear off 4 pieces of aluminum foil and make in to balls. Place the foil balls in the bottom of the crock of a 6 quart slow cooker.

Pour the beer in to the crock of slow cooker.  I used a cheap, light beer because I don’t like using the good stuff for cooking. But any beer will do! Just don’t spend a lot of money if you’re going out to buy beer just for this recipe.

Prepare the chicken by removing the gizzards and innards and trimming any fat around openings.  The whole chickens I buy are usually between 3-5 pounds. Use a larger slow cooker for a bigger bird.

Next, use your favorite herbs and spices to season chicken as desired. Salt and pepper works great, but add any spices you like. I use lemon pepper, garlic, seasoned salt and a chicken rub. Make sure to get under the skin and in the cavity of the chicken with the spices.

Place the chicken on top of the foil so that it sits above the beer. Cover and cook on high for 3 hours or low for 5-6 hours.

The chicken can be served right out of the slow cooker, but the skin will not be crisp. We finished the chicken off on the grill  for a few minutes to crisp up the skin and add that grilled flavor. You can also use a broiler to crisp up the skin if a grill isn’t available.

 

 

 

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