On certain occasions, it is appropriate to seek a Paula Deen recipe. An All-American Party is one such occasion. Beer-butt chicken, or beer-in-the-rear chicken, is an ingenious way to cook a juicy and flavorful chicken for a crowd. I looked up a few recipes before settling on my own version, taking pieces of Paula Deen with me.
To go with the chicken, others brought boiled peanuts:
Green bean casserole, pigs-in-a-blanket and Frito pie! Frito pie is a gut bomb of epic proportions. I’m not exactly sure what’s in it, other than ground meat, Fritos, cheese and something spicy. It tastes exactly as you’d imagine….delicious!
Someone else brought this sweet-tea wine, which tastes sweeter than Cheerwine:
And my main course…
Write Gal’s Beer-Butt Chicken
Ingredients:
- One 4-5 lb. chicken, giblets removed, rinsed and patted dry
- 4 cloves of garlic, smashed
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 1 lemon, cut into chunks
- 1 can Budweiser
- EVOO
- Kosher salt
- cracked black pepper
- Smoked paprika
Preheat grill (if using gas grill, heat to 350). Season inside of chicken with salt and pepper. Drink 1/4 c. of the beer, then push the garlic and rosemary sprigs inside (they can stick out the top. Place the beer on a foil baking pan or anything else that can go on the grill. Sit the chicken on the can. Push the lemon through the neck cavity. Drizzle EVOO all over the chicken, spreading with a brush or your fingers. Salt and pepper liberally. Sprinkle paprika over the skin, to taste.
Place the pan on the grill. Cover and cook for 1 hour, or until juices run clear. Remove from heat (the juices will be bubbling like crazy on the bottom of the pan). Carefully remove chicken and pull out can – watch out, it will be shooting steam like a beer volcano. Let chicken rest 10 minutes…
Then carve and serve! The skin was crispy and salty, the meat was juicy and well seasoned with all the herbs and lemon. I spooned the pan drippings over anything – you could make a great gravy with them.
Enjoy, friends! xoxo
Seasoned to Taste 
Another option: put juice-catching pan UNDER the grill grate, with the coals pushed around it. Then the chicken is placed directly on the grill grate. This way, you still get the juices and the heat can circulate more freely around the entire chicken.